ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION: The aim of the study was to test the feasibility of the tractography technique based on diffusion-tensor imaging (DTI) for the assessment of small infarcts involving the brainstem. METHODS: A patient who presented with an isolated left third cranial nerve palsy underwent magnetic resonance examination. Images were obtained by use of a whole-body, 1.5-T imager. Data were transferred to an off-line workstation for fiber tracking. RESULTS: The conventional diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) performed using a 5 mm slice thickness could only depict an equivocal hyperintensity lesion located at the left paramedian midbrain. An additional thin-slice DTI was performed immediately after the initial DWI using a 3 mm slice thickness and was able to delineate the lesion more clearly. Image postprocessing of thin-slice DTI data revealed that the lesion location involved the course of the third cranial nerve tract, corresponding with the patient's clinical symptoms. CONCLUSION: The tractography technique can be applied to assess fine neuronal structures of the brainstem, enabling direct clinicoradiological correlation of small infarcts involving this region.
