Evren Ozarslan1, 2, Timothy M. Shepherd3, Cheng Guan Koay4, Stephen J. Blackband5, Peter J. Basser1
1STBB / PPITS / NICHD, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, United States; 2Center for Neuroscience and Regenerative Medicine, USUHS, Bethesda, MD, United States; 3University of California, San Francisco, CA; 4University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI; 5University of Florida, Gainesville, FL
An anomalous diffusion model, inspired by the theory of diffusion in fractal and disordered media, is used to characterize the temporal scaling (TS) properties of diffusion MRI data acquired with multiple diffusion times. A robust computational procedure was devised to obtain accurate estimates even when the signal falls below the Rician noise floor. The interplay between diffusion anisotropy and TS was investigated. The findings suggest the adequacy of the model as well as the reproducibility of estimates. The TS parameters could be used as new and useful markers of tissue microstructure that could be altered by numerous processes and pathologies.