Anisotropy effects of the magnetic resonance signal of biological tissue.

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Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is a non-invasive and versatile imaging technique, which has seen tremendous success in research and diagnosis. With advanced MRI, one can probe biological tissues in ways that allow researchers to create quantitative maps of tissue properties. Characteristics assessed with MRI include the signal relaxation, the concentration of cell metabolites, and the amount and direction of water diffusion or blood flow. In recent years it has been shown that some MRI techniques are sensitive to the angle formed between the main axis of anisotropic tissues and the direction of the magnetic field. For instance, a systematic orientation dependency (OD) has been described in particular for images of R2* signal relaxation, attributed by current mathematical models to the contributions of both isotropic and anisotropic tissues. If understood well, these effects may be used to map early brain development or tissue damage and repair.