Cape Town - 2026 ISMRM-ISMRT Annual Meeting and Exhibition - Diffusion Modeling To Map Tissue Microstructure

Diffusion Modeling To Map Tissue Microstructure

Power Pitch

Diffusion

Thursday, 14 May 2026

Power Pitch Theatre 1

13:40 - 15:16

Moderators: Ricardo Coronado-Leija & Adam Phipps

Session Number: 651-02

No CME/CE Credit

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This Power Pitches session highlights recent work using diffusion MRI to map tissue microstructure in the brain and body, spanning methodological developments through to translational and application-driven studies.

Skill Level: Intermediate

13:40		651-02-001. Assessing the reproducibility of grey and white matter microstructural metrics across magnetic field and gradient strengths Elena Grosso, Eric Bardinet, Francesca Branzoli, Stéphane Lehéricy, Mélanie Didier Paris Brain Institute - ICM, Inserm U1127, CNRS UMR 7225, Sorbonne Université, UMR S 1127, Paris, France Impact: We plan to investigate the variability of diffusion metrics obtained using three MRI scanners at the same site, with different gradients (80, 135 and 200 mT/m) and field strengths (3T and 7T), for use as reliable pathological biomarkers.
13:42		651-02-002. Harmonization of NODDI parameters improves brain tumor characterization across scanners at a single site Melanie Bauer, Stephanie Mangesius, Michaela Wagner, Johannes Kerschbaumer, Daniel Pinggera, Julian Mangesius, Astrid Grams, Elke Gizewski, Christoph Birkl Medical University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria Impact: Harmonization of NODDI parameters reduces scanner bias within single-site multi-scanner data, enhancing the reliability of NODDI-based biomarkers for brain tumor characterization. This improves data pooling and clinical decision-making without compromising the assessment of biological effects.
13:44		651-02-003. SANDI diffusion imaging for brain tumor microstructure: clinical feasibility and initial histopathological validation Giovanni Savini, Luca Cappellini, Nadia Milanesi, Francesca Geroli, Luca Raspagliesi, gaia ressa, Riccardo Levi, Alessia Lindemann, Thorsten Feiweier, DOMENICO ZACA', Matteo Battocchio, Clorindo Notte, Pietro Bontempi, Marco Riva, Federico Pessina, Letterio Politi Humanitas University, Pieve Emanuele, Italy Impact: SANDI enables noninvasive quantification of tumor cellularity and microstructure, potentially improving treatment response assessment and biopsy targeting. This approach establishes a pathway to evaluate tumor biology in vivo, informing surgical and therapeutic decisions.
13:46		651-02-004. Unveiling Extra-Cellular Statistical Microstructural Information Encoded in Diffusion MRI Signals Adam Threlfall, Yang Yang, Emiliano Spezi, Salvatore Torquato, Derek Jones, Marco Palombo, Leandro Beltrachini Cardiff University, Cardiff, United Kingdom Impact: This work initiates the statistical characterisation of dMRI signals, comparing the microstructural information encoded about the extended extra-cellular space, and establishing a foundation for advanced signal interpretation in isotropic tissue environments.
13:48		651-02-005. TRACED: a novel diffusion model for characterizing extracellular diffusivity, tortuosity, and cell size and density in tumors Joshua Marchant, Hong Hsi Lee, Elizabeth Gerstner, Susie Huang, Bruce Rosen Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, United States of America Impact: TRACED provides a computationally-efficient framework for modeling time-dependent diffusion in heterogenous tissue microstructure. We demonstrate the first in vivo estimation of extracellular intrinsic diffusivity and tortuosity in a glioblastoma patient. Future work may explore the clinical applications of TRACED parameters.
13:50		651-02-006. A fusion model of time-dependent diffusion MRI and serum biomarkers for differentiating ICC from HCC: a preliminary study Xingqing Qin, Jin-yuan Liao, Yu-chen Wei, Yong-mei Huang, Yan-yan YU, Hui Zhang, Thorsten Feiweier, Meining Chen The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University,, Nanning, China Impact: The clinic-td-dMRI fusion model demonstrated superior diagnostic performance (AUC=0.867) in non-contrast discrimination between HCC and ICC. This approach provides detailed microstructural characterization compared to conventional DWI/IVIM techniques, thereby overcoming the inherent limitations of EOB-MRI without the requirement for contrast administration.
13:52		651-02-007. Time-Dependent Diffusion MRI in Cervical Cancer: Noninvasive Classification and Pathologic Correlation Wenyi Yue, Junzhong Xu, Dandan Zheng, Xiaoyu Jiang, Chaoyang Jin, Qi Yang Beijing Chaoyang Hospital, Capital Medical University, beijing, China Impact: Time-dependent diffusion MRI enables noninvasive microstructural assessment of cervical cancer, improving lesion subtype differentiation and pathological characterization. This approach may guide individualized treatment planning and inspire further research on tumor microenvironment imaging biomarkers.
13:54		651-02-008. Diffusion MRI Assessment of Renal Fibrosis in Glomerulonephritis: Compartmental vs Non-Compartmental Models JIAN LIU, Yu Wu, Daoyu Yang, Lisha Nie, Xianchun Zeng Guizhou Provincial People’s Hospital, Guizhou, China Impact: Integrating DKI and IVIM yields a noninvasive, standardized readout for GN fibrosis—screen early with medullary D*, stage with cortical MK. These metrics enable quantitative trial endpoints, reduce biopsy dependence, and inform timely intervention and monitoring.
13:56		651-02-009. High-Frequency OGSE at 28.2T in a Cortical Brain Organoid and Fiber Phantom Tatiana Nikolaeva, Maxime Yon, Maria Paula Del Popolo, Chantal Tax University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, Netherlands Impact: High-fidelity imaging at 28.2T with strong gradients can provide a platform for validation of diffusion MRI microstructural markers.
13:58		651-02-010. When fiber bundles are not axially symmetric: 4-dimensional fiber distributions in the human brain Santiago Coelho, Els Fieremans, Dmitry Novikov New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, United States of America Impact: Fiber bundle orientations are characterized by 3 angles, defining orientation distributions on the 3d rotation group manifold (3-dimensional sphere)—instead of conventional distributions on a 2-dimensional sphere. We uncover such 4-dimensional distributions and bundle axial asymmetry in the human brain.
14:00		651-02-011. Dynamic Diffusion Weighted Imaging Reveals Impaired Glymphatic Cerebrospinal Fluid Dynamics in cSVD Pathogenesis Yurong Ma, Songhong Yue, Na Han, Mingsong Tang, Yuhui Xiong, Guangxu Han, Yanli Jiang, Pengfei Wang, Jing Zhang Department of Magnetic Resonance, Lanzhou, China Impact: This work establishes dynDWI as a non-invasive tool to assess glymphatic function in cSVD, providing a potential biomarker for early detection and monitoring of microstructural damage previously unattainable in clinical practice.
14:02		651-02-012. Beyond resolution limit of in vivo axon diameter mapping with diffusion-relaxometry MRI using Multi-Echo AxCaliberSMT Kwok-Shing Chan, Yohan Jun, Aneri Bhatt, Berkin Bilgic, Susie Huang, Hong Hsi Lee Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, United States of America Impact: We develop a diffusion-relaxometry MRI framework that achieves comprehensive axon calibre sensitivity with a large dynamic range, allowing accurate mapping of both small and large axons in vivo and promising to improve non-invasive characterization of white matter microstructure.
14:04		651-02-013. Characterizing heterogeneity in white matter microstructure among patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder Shuangwei Chai, Hailong Li, Zilin Zhou, Jiaxin Jiang, Lingxiao Cao, Yuanyuan Luo, Bin Li, Xiaoqi Huang Huaxi MR Research Center (HMRRC), Institute of Radiology and Medical Imaging, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, China Impact: Our findings demonstrate that OCD is composed of neuroanatomical subtypes that have distinct microstructural alterations compared to healthy controls. Furthermore, these subtypes exhibit normalization of WM measures within sensorimotor network, fronto-limbic network and visual network, but correspond to different hemispheres.
14:06		651-02-014. Simulating contributions of incoherent and coherent CSF motion to magnitude and phase of low-b-value diffusion-weighted MRI Megan Martin, Zhangxuan Hu, Divya Varadarajan, Amelia Strom, Carlos Castillo-Passi, Grant Hartung, Laura Lewis, Jonathan Polimeni Stanford University, Stanford, United States of America Impact: Many studies assess CSF motion using parameters derived from the magnitude of dMRI data. Here we show that many forms of motion will yield the same parameter values and how the phase of the dMRI data can help distinguish them.
14:08		651-02-015. Denoising structural connectivity matrices across a study population using random matrix theory Bradley Karat, Sofia Nikolaidou, Zifei Ling, Jiangyang Zhang, Erika Raven, Jelle Veraart Bernard and Irene Schwartz Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, New York, United States of America Impact: Network analyses of the brain are hindered by noise in the structural connectivity matrix. Here we propose a solution which extends contemporary denoising techniques to connectivity matrices, improving the reliability and precision of brain network analyses at the population-level.