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Updated: Oct 16, 2025
Co-analysis of Brain Structure and Function using fMRI and Diffusion-weighted Imaging
Published on: November 8, 2012
Reproducibility of MRI-based white matter tract estimation using multi-fiber probabilistic tractography: effect of
Irène Brumer1,2, Enrico De Vita2, Jonathan Ashmore1,3
1Department of Neuroradiology, King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Ground Floor, Ruskin Wing, Denmark Hill, London, SE5 9RS, UK.
Objective:
There is a pressing need to assess user-dependent reproducibility of multi-fibre probabilistic tractography in order to encourage clinical implementation of these advanced and relevant approaches. The goal of this study was to evaluate both intrinsic and inter-user reproducibility of corticospinal tract estimation.
Materials And Methods:
Six clinical datasets including motor functional and diffusion MRI were used. Three users performed an independent tractography analysis following identical instructions. Dice indices were calculated to quantify the reproducibility of seed region, fMRI-based end region, and streamline maps.
Results:
The inter-user reproducibility ranged 41-93%, 29-94%, and 50-92%, for seed regions, end regions, and streamline maps, respectively. Differences in streamline maps correlated with differences in seed and end regions. Good inter-user agreement in seed and end regions, yielded inter-user reproducibility close to the intrinsic reproducibility (92-97%) and in most cases higher than 80%.
Discussion:
Uncertainties related to user-dependent decisions and the probabilistic nature of the analysis should be considered when interpreting probabilistic tractography data. The standardization of the methods used to define seed and end regions is a necessary step to improve the accuracy and robustness of multi-fiber probabilistic tractography in a clinical setting. Clinical users should choose a feasible compromise between reproducibility and analysis duration.
