Validating tractography of high resolution post-mortem human brain at 7T with polarized light imaging

In this work we present voxel-wise orientation estimates from diffusion-weighted steady state free precession MRI data of post-mortem human brain, acquired with three resolutions at 7T. Data were acquired with 0.5mm, 1mm, and 2mm isotropic resolution over 90 directions. These resolutions were chosen because 1mm and 2mm are typical of in vivo DTI. Deterministic tractography was produced in various regions using the highest resolution dataset. Orientation maps demonstrate small structures that are less apparent in lower resolution data. Orientation estimates and tractography results were validated with polarized light microscopy imaging.