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Diffusion Imaging in the Rat Cervical Spinal Cord
Published on: April 7, 2015
Effect of cerebral spinal fluid suppression for diffusional kurtosis imaging
Alicia W Yang1, Jens H Jensen, Caixia C Hu
1Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, New York 10016, USA. alicia.yang@med.nyu.edu
Journal of Magnetic Resonance Imaging : JMRI
|October 5, 2012
Summary
Diffusional kurtosis imaging (DKI) metrics are more robust to cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) partial volume effects in gray matter compared to conventional diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) metrics. This suggests DKI metrics may offer more specific insights into tissue microstructure.
Area of Science:
- Neuroimaging
- Biomedical Engineering
- Radiology
Background:
- Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) partial volume effects can confound quantitative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) metrics.
- Diffusional kurtosis imaging (DKI) offers advanced insights into tissue microstructure beyond conventional diffusion tensor imaging (DTI).
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the impact of CSF partial volume effects on DKI metrics in white matter and cortical gray matter.
- To compare the sensitivity of DKI metrics versus conventional DTI metrics to CSF contamination.
Main Methods:
- Standard DKI and FLAIR-DKI sequences were acquired in four healthy volunteers.
- Conventional DTI metrics (FA, MD, D[symbol in text], D[symbol in text]) and DKI metrics (MK, K[symbol in text], K[symbol in text]) were measured.
- Image slices minimizing ventricular CSF contamination were analyzed.
Main Results:
- White matter diffusion metrics showed minimal differences (<10%) between standard and FLAIR-DKI.
- Cortical gray matter conventional DTI metrics exhibited significant differences (19-52%) due to CSF partial volume effects.
- Cortical gray matter kurtosis metrics showed less than 11% change, indicating robustness to CSF contamination.
Conclusions:
- DKI metrics are less susceptible to CSF partial voluming in cortical gray matter compared to conventional DTI metrics.
- DKI metrics may serve as more specific indicators of microstructural changes, assuming comparable effect sizes.
