Clinical application of diffusion tensor imaging in diagnosis of craniocerebral diseases / 第三军医大学学报

Objective To value the clinical application of diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) in cerebral diseases. Methods Six volunteers and 6 patients (including 3 patients with ischemic stroke and 3 patients with glioma) were examined by DTI and T1weighted, T2weighted MR scan. All data were processed with DtiStudio software to show the white matter fiber tracts. The fractional anisotropy (FA) of the diffusion tensor were measured between the affected and the unaffected side. Results The white matter fiber tract could be observed clearly on the FA map. The pyramidal tract with different degree disruption could be showed in 3 patients with ischemic stroke. Compression, displacement, infiltration or destruction of pyramidal tract, corpus callosum or internal capsule and external capsule could be seen in 3 patients with glioma, and FA was significantly reduced on the affected side as compared to the unaffected side. Conclusion Diffusion tensor imaging is useful in observing the damage and displacement of the white matter fiber tracts in vivo, beneficial to the surgical plan for patients and prognosing recovery of function.