The method has many potential applications, but the current focus is to gather a clearer image of the glymphatic system, which moves fluid through the brain, to help researchers understand its involvement in neurodegenerative disorders like Alzheimer’s disease.

“I think this technique has the potential to be another tool to monitor and to use as a biomarker for water exchange and water movement—in the brain and beyond,” said Luis Hernandez-Garcia, a research professor of biomedical engineering at U-M and corresponding author of the study.