Diffusion tensor interpolation profile control using non-uniform motion on a Riemannian geodesic

Tensor interpolation is a key step in the processing algorithms of diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), such as registration and tractography. The diffusion tensor (DT) in biological tissues is assumed to be positive definite. However, the tensor interpolations in most clinical applications have used a Euclidian scheme that does not take this assumption into account. Several Riemannian schemes were developed to overcome this limitation. Although each of the Riemannian schemes uses different metrics, they all result in a 'fixed' interpolation profile that cannot adapt to a variety of diffusion patterns in biological tissues. In this paper, we propose a DT interpolation scheme to control the interpolation profile, and explore its feasibility in clinical applications. The profile controllability comes from the non-uniform motion of interpolation on the Riemannian geodesic. The interpolation experiment with medical DTI data shows that the profile control improves the interpolation quality by assessing the reconstruction errors with the determinant error, Euclidean norm, and Riemannian norm.