Conceptual Foundations of Diffusion in Magnetic Resonance

TL;DR

This paper provides a comprehensive conceptual and theoretical review of the q-space technique in diffusion MRI, unifying it with Fick's laws through a molecular concentration framework.

Contribution

It introduces a unified conceptual framework linking Fick's laws and diffusion MRI, enhancing understanding of the q-space technique from first principles.

Findings

Establishes the relationship between diffusion MRI and Fick's laws.

Provides a theoretical foundation for the q-space technique.

Offers pedagogical insights into diffusion in MRI.

Abstract

A thorough review of the q-space technique is presented starting from a discussion of Fick's laws. The work presented here is primarily conceptual, theoretical and hopefully pedagogical. We offered the notion of molecular concentration to unify Fick's laws and diffusion MRI within a coherent conceptual framework. The fundamental relationship between diffusion MRI and the Fick's laws are carefully established. The conceptual and theoretical basis of the q-space technique is investigated from first principles.