Principles of Diffusion Weighted Imaging
Denis Le Bihan pioneered diffusion weighted MRI which measures the random motion of water molecules and which provides unique contrast sensitive to tissue microstructure and to cellular density and diffusion imaging proved especially valuable for early detection of ischemic stroke and for characterization of tumors and white matter integrity
Clinical Translation and Applications
Diffusion MRI became a standard tool in acute neurology oncology and in neurodevelopmental research and derived metrics such as apparent diffusion coefficient and diffusion tensor imaging provided quantitative markers for diagnosis prognosis and for monitoring therapy
Technical Refinement and Research
Diffusion methods evolved with stronger gradients motion compensation and advanced modeling which improved sensitivity and specificity and ongoing research extends diffusion techniques to microstructure mapping and to clinical biomarkers for neurodegenerative and psychiatric disorders