This study investigates the sensitivity of the Stimulated-Echo Acquisition Mode (STEAM) diffusion-weighted signal to permeability quantified with water exchange time $$$\tau_{ex}$$$. In order to do this, Monte Carlo simulations were generated for a range of histologically-plausible $$$\tau_{ex}$$$ and practical scanner acquisition parameters. The results suggest that on the standard clinical scanner (G=70mT/m), STEAM estimates short exchange times (<0.9s), which are characteristic in tissue with myelin damage, while tissue with longer exchange times (>1.5s) is practically indistinguishable from impermeable tissue. The Connectome scanner (G=300mT/m) estimates a much wider range, however needs careful optimisation since the resolution limit is highly dependent on the sequence parameters and SNR’s.
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