Fast and closed-form ensemble-average-propagator approximation from the 4th-order diffusion tensor

Abstract

Generalized Diffusion Tensor Imaging (GDTI) was developed to model complex Apparent Diffusivity Coefficient (ADC) using Higher Order Tensors (HOT) and to overcome the inherent single-peak shortcoming of DTI. However, the geometry of a complex ADC profile doesn't correspond to the underlying structure of fibers. This tissue geometry can be inferred from the shape of the Ensemble Average Propagator (EAP). Though interesting methods for estimating a positive ADC using 4th order diffusion tensors were developed, GDTI in general was overtaken by other approaches, e.g. the Orientation Distribution Function (ODF), since it is considerably difficult to recuperate the EAP from a HOT model of the ADC in GDTI. In this paper we present a novel closed-form approximation of the EAP using Hermite Polynomials from a modified HOT model of the original GDTI-ADC. Since the solution is analytical, it is fast, differentiable, and the approximation converges well to the true EAP. This method also makes the effort of computing a positive ADC worthwhile, since now both the ADC and the EAP can be used and have closed forms. We demonstrate on 4th order diffusion tensors.