Corticospinal tract reconstruction with tumor by using a novel direction filter based tractography method

The corticospinal tract (CST) is the primary neural pathway responsible for voluntary motor functions, and preoperative CST reconstruction is crucial for preserving nerve functions during neurosurgery. Diffusion magnetic resonance imaging-based tractography is the only noninvasive method to preoperatively reconstruct CST in clinical practice. However, for the largesize bundle CST with complex fiber geometry (fanning fibers), reconstructing its full extent remains challenging with local-derived methods without incorporating global information. Especially in the presence of tumors, the mass effect and partial volume effect cause abnormal diffusion signals. In this work, a CST reconstruction tractography method based on a novel direction filter was proposed, designed to ensure robust CST reconstruction in the clinical dataset with tumors. A direction filter based on a fourth-order differential equation was introduced for global direction estimation. By considering the spatial consistency and leveraging anatomical prior knowledge, the direction filter was computed by minimizing the energy between the target directions and initial fiber directions. On the basis of the new directions corresponding to CST obtained by the direction filter, the fiber tracking method was implemented to reconstruct the fiber trajectory. Additionally, a deep learning-based method along with tractography template prior information was employed to generate the regions of interest (ROIs) and initial fiber directions. Experimental results showed that the proposed method yields higher valid connections and lower no connections and exhibits the fewest broken fibers and short-connected fibers. The proposed method offers an effective tool to enhance CST-related surgical outcomes by optimizing tumor resection and preserving CST.