Dear Users

This Thursday (4-5 pm) in YNiC open plan, there will be a presentation by Richard Watts entitled "Diffusion MRI: Measuring the brain on microscopic and macroscopic scales".

Richard Watts is the Director of the MR Research at the Van der Veer Institute for Parkinson's and Brain Research in Christchurch, New Zealand and a Senior Lecturer in Physics and Astronomy at the University of Canterbury.

Everyone is welcome to attend.

Best wishes Rebecca

Abstract:

Diffusion MRI produces images that are sensitive to the random (Brownian) motion of water molecules in the brain. This motion, and hence the images that are produced, are uniquely sensitive to the microscopic, cellular environment. This has been exploited for the clinical imaging of stroke, where it can be used to both identify and differentiate between recent and old infarctions. In the the research environment, diffusion MRI produces quantitative maps that relate to properties such as cell density and myelination. In addition, measuring the directionality of diffusion (diffusion tensor imaging) in white matter allows the orientation of the fiber tract bundles to be inferred, enabling them to be traced from one part of the brain to another (diffusion tractography). This presentation will introduce that basics of diffusion MRI and its unique applications to brain connectivity, development and damage.