TY  - JOUR
T1  - Cardiac Diffusion-Weighted Imaging: From the Physics to Clinical Applications
AU - Nahardani, Ali AU - Faeghi, Fariborz AU - Hashemi, Hasan 
JO  - Research Journal of Medical Sciences
VL  - 10
IS  - 4
SP  - 374
EP  - 393
PY  - 2016
DA  - 2001/08/19
SN  - 1815-9346
DO  - rjmsci.2016.374.393
UR  - https://makhillpublications.co/view-article.php?doi=rjmsci.2016.374.393
KW  - Magnetic resonance imaging
KW  -diffusion tensor imaging
KW  -diffusion weighted MRI
KW  -cardiac imaging
KW  -echo-planar imaging
AB  - The human cardiovascular system is a complex architecture consisting of an uncountable number
of muscular fibers. This architecture is orderly arranged. Most of the cardiovascular diseases affect the
microstructural normal histology and thereby its regularity (e.g., Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, myocarditis,
etc.). Diffusion-weighted imaging is a neuroradiological method to image the early neural histopathological
changes in cerebrovascular accidents non-invasively. It can be employed on the other highly organized tissues
like the myocardium. Cardiac Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) is a novel and promising method for investigating
the myocardial fibrous structure non-invasively. DTI measures the magnitude of diffusivity and provides the
information regarding the myocardial fibers’orientations in space. This study reviews the precise definition of
the diffusion phenomenon from biological and physical points of view and then explains the cardiac
diffusion-weighted and diffusion tensor imaging methods. It also introduces the practical maps and indices to
interpret the myocardial microstructures correctly and then reviews the cardiac diffusion imaging’s clinical
applications briefly. Finally, a concise discussion of the cardiac diffusion tensor imaging’s drawbacks and
limitations is held to pave the road for other researchers and investigators.
ER  -