MAP-MRI revisited: Shorter acquisitions, fast propagator anisotropy estimation, new contrasts

Motivation: To advance the clinical translation of MAP-MRI. Goal(s): To accelerate MAP-MRI data acquisition using advanced data processing, to describe novel microstructural contrasts, and to shorten MAP-MRI processing/analysis times. Approach: A recently developed constrained propagator estimation framework was employed to derive MAP-MRI parameters from simulated efficient data acquisitions. Novel metrics and processing methods were proposed and tested on a public dataset. Results: The proposed estimation framework obviates the need for extensive data collection, while the novel metrics could provide additional insights when assessing different diseases, thus advancing the clinical translation and application of MAP-MRI. Impact: This work shows that sophisticated postprocessing reduces the number of diffusion encodings needed for MAP-MRI. Together with the proposed novel contrasts, these advances should facilitate neuroimaging studies employing MAP-MRI and possibly enable new clinical applications.