Multi-Dimensional Diffusion MRI Sampling Scheme: B-tensor Design and Accurate Signal Reconstruction

Abstract : B-tensor encoding enables the separation of isotropic and anisotropic tensors. However, little consideration has been given as to how to design a b-tensor encoding sampling scheme. In this work, we propose the first 4D basis for representing the diffusion signal acquired with b-tensor encoding. We study the properties of the diffusion signal in this basis to give recommendations for optimally sampling the space of axisymmetric b-tensors. We show, using simulations, that the proposed sampling scheme enables accurate reconstruction of the diffusion signal by expansion in this basis using a clinically feasible number of samples.