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Updated: Aug 3, 2026
Diffusion Tensor Magnetic Resonance Imaging in the Analysis of Neurodegenerative Diseases
Published on: July 28, 2013
Anisotropic Smoothing Improves DT-MRI-Based Muscle Fiber Tractography
Amanda K W Buck1, Zhaohua Ding2, Christopher P Elder3
1Vanderbilt University Institute of Imaging Science, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, United States of America; Department of Radiology and Radiological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, United States of America; Department of Biomedical Engineering, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, United States of America.
Purpose:
To assess the effect of anisotropic smoothing on fiber tracking measures, including pennation angle, fiber tract length, and fiber tract number in the medial gastrocnemius (MG) muscle in healthy subjects using diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (DW-MRI).
Materials And Methods:
3T DW-MRI data were used for muscle fiber tractography in the MG of healthy subjects. Anisotropic smoothing was applied at three levels (5%, 10%, 15%), and pennation angle, tract length, fiber tract number, fractional anisotropy, and principal eigenvector orientation were quantified for each smoothing level.
Results:
Fiber tract length increased with pre-fiber tracking smoothing, and local heterogeneities in fiber direction were reduced. However, pennation angle was not affected by smoothing.
Conclusion:
Modest anisotropic smoothing (10%) improved fiber-tracking results, while preserving structural features.
