Template-based tractography for clinical neonatal diffusion imaging data
Year: 2012
Type: conference-paper
Abstract: In imaging studies of neonates, particularly in the clinical setting, diusion tensor imaging-based tractography is typically unreliable due to the use of fast acquisition protocols that yield low resolution and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). These image acquisition protocols are implemented with the aim of reducing displacement artifacts that may be produced by the movement of the neonate's head during the scanning session. In addition, axons are not yet fully myelinated in these subjects. As a result, the water molecules' movements are not as constrained as in older brains, making it even more dicult to dene structure by means of diusion proles. Here, we introduce a post-processing method that overcomes some of the diculties described above, allowing the determination of reliable tracts in newborns. We test our method using neonatal data and in particular, we successfully extract some of the limbic, association and commissural bers, all of which are typically dicult to obtain by direct tractography. The method is further validated through visual inspection by expert pediatric neuroradiologists.
DOI: 10.1117/12.912601
Language: English
Subfield: Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and Imaging
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2039485273