A new multi-fiber model for low angular resolution diffusion MRI

Diffusion MRI is a tool of choice for the analysis of the brain white matter fiber pathways. When translated to clinics, the short acquisition time leads to low angular resolution diffusion (LARD) images. Fiber pathways are then inferred assuming Gaussian diffusion (a.k.a. DTI) that provides one fiber orientation per voxel. In the past decade, recent researches highlight more intricate intra-voxel fiber configurations using higher angular resolution diffusion images. In this paper, we introduce a novel non-Gaussian parametric modeling of the diffusion that accounts for multiple intra-voxel fiber orientations, while being compatible with LARD acquisitions. It can indeed be estimated from standard clinical diffusion images with a crossing angle resolution of 30°.