In-vivo investigation of the human cingulum bundle using the optimization of MR diffusion spectrum imaging

Diffusion spectrum imaging (DSI) is a generalization of diffusion tensor imaging to map fibrous structure of white matter and potentially very sensitive to alterations of the cingulum bundles in dementia. In this in-vivo 4T study, DSI parameters especially spatial resolution and diffusion encoding bandwidth were optimized on humans to segment the cingulum bundles for tract level measurements of diffusion. The careful tailoring of the DSI acquisitions in conjunction with fiber tracking provided an optimal DSI setting for a reliable quantification of the cingulum bundle tracts. The optimization of tracking the cingulum bundle was verified using fiber tract quantifications, including coefficients of variability of DSI measurements along the fibers between and within healthy subjects in back-to-back studies and variogram analysis of spatial correlations between diffusion orientation distribution functions (ODF) along the cingulum bundle tracts. The results demonstrate that the identification of the cingulum bundle in human brain is reproducible using an optimized DSI parameter for maximum b-value and high spatial resolution of the DSI acquisition with a feasible acquisition time of whole brain in clinical practice. This optimized DSI setting should be useful for detecting alterations along the cingulum bundle in Alzheimer disease and related neurodegenerative disorders.