title: Mean diffusivity, fractional anisotropy maps, and three-dimensional white-matter tractography by diffusion tensor imaging. Comparison between single-shot fast spin-echo and single-shot echo-planar sequences at 1.5 Tesla.
abstract: Single-shot fast spin-echo (SSFSE)-based magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has been introduced as a technique with less distortion and fewer artifacts for diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). The purpose of this study was to compare mean diffusivity maps, fractional anisotropy (FA) maps, and three-dimensional white-matter tractography using data obtained with SSFSE diffusion-tensor MRI technique and the much more common DTI method, echo-planar imaging (EPI), in the brain using a 1.5-Tesla clinical MR imager. Thirty patients with neurological disorders were scanned with both SSFSE-DTI and EPI-DTI using comparable scan times. Mean diffusivity and FA maps were calculated from the SSFSE-DTI and EPI-DTI data and qualitatively compared using two criteria. Three-dimensional fiber tracking was also performed on each data set. SSFSE-DTI produced image artifacts less frequently than EPI-DTI. However, demonstration of three-dimensional fiber-tracking of white matter on SSFSE-DTI was inferior to that on EPI-DTI. In conclusion, SSFSE-DTI is a promising alternative to conventional EPI-DTI imaging, producing fewer image artifacts and geometric distortions. However, for 3D streamline fiber-tracking, EPI data produced more consistent and reliable results.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Toho University, 6-11-1 Omori-nishi, Ota, Tokyo, 143-8541, Japan. masahori@med.toho-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: Masaaki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hori
authors.forename: Keiichi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ishigame
authors.forename: Nobuyuki
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Shiraga
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kumagai
authors.forename: Shigeki
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Aoki
authors.forename: Tsutomu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Araki
mesh_terms: D016880:Anisotropy; D001931:Brain Mapping / Q000379:methods*; D038524:Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D017352:Echo-Planar Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009413:Nerve Fibers, Myelinated / Q000473:pathology*