Optimization of white matter fiber tractography with diffusional kurtosis imaging.
Diffusional kurtosis imaging (DKI) is a clinically feasible diffusion MRI technique for white matter (WM) fiber tractography (FT) with the ability to directly resolve intra-voxel crossing fibers by means of the kurtosis diffusion orientation distribution function (dODF). Here we expand on previous work by exploring properties of the kurtosis dODF and their subsequent effects on WM FT for in vivo human data. For comparison, the results are contrasted with fiber bundle orientation estimates provided by the diffusion tensor, which is the primary quantity obtained from diffusion tensor imaging. We also outline an efficient method for performing DKI-based WM FT that can substantially decrease the computational requirements. The recommended method for implementing the kurtosis ODF is demonstrated to optimize the reproducibility and sensitivity of DKI for detecting crossing fibers while reducing the occurrence of non-physically-meaningful, negative values in the kurtosis dODF approximation. In addition, DKI-based WM FT is illustrated for different protocols differing in image acquisition times from 48 to 5.3 min.
Center for Biomedical Imaging, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA.|Department of Neurosciences, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA.|Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA.
G Russell
GR
Glenn
Center for Biomedical Imaging, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA.|Department of Neurosciences, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA.|Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA.
Joseph A
JA
Helpern
Center for Biomedical Imaging, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA.|Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA.
Ali
A
Tabesh
Center for Biomedical Imaging, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA.|Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA.
Jens H
JH
Jensen
D000328:Adult; D000465:Algorithms; D016880:Anisotropy; D066264:Datasets as Topic; D056324:Diffusion Tensor Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007089:Image Enhancement / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016011:Normal Distribution; D012016:Reference Values; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D066127:White Matter / Q000033:anatomy & histology*
DKI; crossing fibers; diffusion MRI; kurtosis; non-Gaussian; orientation distribution function; tractography; white matter tracts