Neurography of the Spinal Nerve Roots by Diffusion Tensor Scanning Applying Motion-Probing Gradients in Six Directions

Purpose: Diffusion-weighted (DW) magnetic resonance (MR) imaging of the nerve roots and peripheral nerves has been reported. We applied a sequence similar to brain diffusion tensor (DT) tractography to such a technique and assessed its feasibility. Methods: On a 1.5-T MR system, we acquired DW image...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Magnetic Resonance in Medical Sciences 2007, Vol.6(1), pp.1-5
Main Authors: TSUCHIYA, Kazuhiro, IMAI, Masamichi, TATEISHI, Hidekatsu, NITATORI, Toshiaki, FUJIKAWA, Akira, TAKEMOTO, Shuhei
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Aged
Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging - methods
diffusion tensor
Feasibility Studies
Female
Humans
Image Enhancement - methods
Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted - methods
Imaging, Three-Dimensional - methods
Male
Middle Aged
Motion
MRI
Nerve Compression Syndromes - diagnosis
nerve root
Sensitivity and Specificity
spinal cord
Spinal Nerve Roots - pathology
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Summary:Purpose: Diffusion-weighted (DW) magnetic resonance (MR) imaging of the nerve roots and peripheral nerves has been reported. We applied a sequence similar to brain diffusion tensor (DT) tractography to such a technique and assessed its feasibility. Methods: On a 1.5-T MR system, we acquired DW images in the axial plane using a single-shot echo-planar short tau inversion-recovery (STIR)-based sequence. Motion-probing gradients (MPGs) were applied in 6 directions with a b-value of 500 s/mm2. For postprocessing, we performed maximum-intensity projection to reconstruct the images. We obtained cervical spine images from 3 volunteers and 8 patients and thoracolumbar spine images from 3 volunteers and 6 patients. On the source images of the cervical spine obtained from the volunteers, we compared the signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) of the neural structures between images obtained applying MPG in 6 directions and in 3 directions. We visually assessed the nerve roots and proximal portions of the contiguous peripheral nerves in the images from volunteers and patients. Results: The SNRs were significantly superior in the images obtained with the application of MPGs in 6 directions to those obtained with the application of MPGs in 3 directions (P
ISSN:1347-3182
1880-2206
DOI:10.2463/mrms.6.1