High-resolution isotropic 3D diffusion tensor imaging of the human brain.

High-resolution cardiac-gated 3D diffusion tensor imaging (3D-DTI) is demonstrated in vivo for several areas of the human brain. Anatomical mapping of subcortical white matter (WM), as well as definition and identification of major WM bundles from the brainstem were performed in humans for the first time using this technique. Improved intrinsic signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and relatively reduced sensitivity to physiological motion (e.g., brain pulsations) with respect to cardiac-gated multislice acquisition are demonstrated. The advantages and weaknesses of this approach are discussed.