Diffusion tensor imaging of the sural nerve in normal controls
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Published on: October 7, 2021
Boklye Kim1, Ashok Srinivasan1, Brian Sabb2
1Department of Radiology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Objective:
To develop a diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) protocol for assessing the sural nerve in healthy subjects.
Methods:
Sural nerves in 25 controls were imaged using DTI at 3T with 6, 15, and 32 gradient directions. Fractional anisotropy (FA) and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) were computed from nerve regions of interest co-registered with T2-weighted images.
Results:
Coronal images with 0.5(RL)× 2.0(FH)× 0.5(AP)mm(3) resolution successfully localized the sural nerve. FA maps showed less variability with 32 directions (0.559 ± 0.071) compared to 15(0.590 ± 0.080) and 6(0.659 ± 0.109).
Conclusions:
Our DTI protocol was effective in imaging sural nerves in controls to establish normative FA/ADC, with potential to be used non-invasively in diseased nerves of patients.
