Diffusion Tensor Imaging of the Normal Pediatric Spinal Cord Using an Inner Field of View Echo-Planar Imaging Sequence

Barakat, Nadia; Mohamed, Feroze B.; Hunter, Louis N.; Shah, Pallav; Faro, Scott H.; Samdani, Amer F.; Finsterbusch, Jürgen; Betz, Randal R.; Gaughan, John; Mulcahey, M. J.

doi:10.3174/ajnr.a2924

Cited by 39 publications

(54 citation statements)

References 39 publications

(41 reference statements)

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“…5,8 It has also been reported that in adult cervical SC DTI, there is good intra-and interobserver variability. 16 In our current study, we have shown that within the cervical and thoracic SC, DTI values showed moderate-to-strong repeatability.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The inner FOV sequence was based on a single-shot echo-planar imaging sequence for DWI with 2D-selective radiofrequency excitations, which improve the SNR and reduce geometric distortions in SC imaging, described in detail elsewhere. 5,10 Manual shim volume adjustments were also performed before data acquisition to restrict the adjustment volume to the anatomy of interest as much as possible. Diffusion tensor images were acquired axially by using 2 overlapping slabs, in the same anatomic location prescribed for the T2 gradient-echo images, to cover the cervical (C1-upper thoracic region) and thoracic (upper thoracic-L1) SC (Fig 1).…”

Section: Mr Imaging Protocolmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The usefulness of DTI has been shown for examining the cervical SC in pediatric subjects. [5][6][7] However, a comprehensive study examining the diffusion characteristics and repeatability of DTI along the cervical and thoracic SC in pediatric subjects has not been reported. On the basis of the promising outcomes of previous pediatric studies and owing to the growing practice of obtaining DTI in clinical patients, 7,8 it is essential to establish normative pediatric DTI values along the cervical and thoracic SC to aid in the clinical interpretation of the injured SC.…”

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confidence: 99%

“…Each ROI was manually drawn on the whole cord on grayscale FA maps at every axial section, on the basis of the methodology from the previous article, 5 along the cervical and thoracic SC for both scans. For drawing the ROI, sections corresponding to the anatomic regions with accurate vertebral levels were defined for the cervical and thoracic SC by a board-certified pediatric neuroradiologist.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Diffusion Tensor Imaging of the Normal Cervical and Thoracic Pediatric Spinal Cord

Saksena¹,

Middleton

Krisa

et al. 2016

AJNR Am J Neuroradiol

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BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: DTI data of the normal healthy spinal cord in children are limited compared with adults and are typically focused on the cervical spinal cord. The purpose of this study was the following: to investigate the feasibility of obtaining repeatable DTI parameters along the entire cervical and thoracic spinal cord as a function of age in typically developing pediatric subjects; to analyze the DTI parameters among different transverse levels of the cervical and thoracic spinal cord; and to examine the sex differences in DTI parameters along the cervical and thoracic spinal cord.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Mr Imaging Protocolmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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confidence: 99%

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Diffusion Tensor Imaging of the Normal Cervical and Thoracic Pediatric Spinal Cord

Saksena¹,

Middleton

Krisa

et al. 2016

AJNR Am J Neuroradiol

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“…There are even less studies in children and hardly any normative data [5,6,11,12]. Age-specific normative data are necessary to identify and grade spinal cord pathology in developing children.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Diffusion Tensor Scalars Vary with Age and Across Spinal Levels in Children

Izbudak¹,

Dumrongpisutikul²,

Thompson³

2015

J Neurol Neurosci

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Purpose: 1) To evaluate the maturational evolution of the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) and fractional anisotropy (FA) of the normal pediatric cervical as well as upper thoracic cord, 2) to evaluate whether ADC and FA values vary at different levels within the spinal cord [upper cervical (UC), lower cervical (LC) and upper thoracic (UT)]. Methods:Normal pediatric MRI and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) studies of the spinal cord obtained with a 1.5 Tesla MR scanner were retrospectively analyzed. ADC and FA maps were reconstructed from the DTI data. Regions of interest were manually placed at the center of the cervical and upper thoracic cord at the intervertebral disk levels in mid-sagittal plane. The ADC and FA values were analyzed by linear regression and a general linear model with repeated measures.Results: Forty-seven subjects ranged in age from 2 months-17.5 years (mean ± standard deviation: 74.3 ± 61.1 months) were included in the study. At all spinal cord levels a statistically significant decrease in ADC and increase in FA with increasing child's age was evident. The ADC values of the UC/LC levels were higher than those of UT while the FA values did not show significant differences.Conclusion: DTI scalars vary with age, likely due to ongoing maturational processes, and ADC values vary across levels of the spinal cord. Consequently when quantitative DTI of the spinal cord is undertaken in children; an age and levelmatched normative data should be used to accurately interpret the quantitative results.Keywords: Apparent Diffusion Coefficient (ADC), Fractional Anisotropy (FA), Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) motion artifacts. These artifacts affect the thoracic cord the most at mid thoracic level, therefore the majority of the prior studies focused on cervical spine or even upper cervical spine.There are even less studies in children and hardly any normative data [5,6,11,12]. Age-specific normative data are necessary to identify and grade spinal cord pathology in developing children. Similar to the brain, many ongoing maturational processes 2 ARCHIVOS DE MEDICINA

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Diffusion tensor imaging of fetal spinal cord: feasibility and gestational‐age‐related changes

Corroënne

Grévent

Mahallati

et al. 2023

Ultrasound in Obstet & Gyne

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What are the novel findings of this work?Diffusion tensor imaging can be used to evaluate the spinal cord in normal fetuses. There is a significant gestational-age-related change in fractional anisotropy in the spinal cord during pregnancy, which may result from decreasing water content related to myelination of fiber tracts. What are the clinical implications of this work?This study may serve as a basis for further investigation of diffusion tensor imaging in the fetus, including research into its potential in pathological conditions that impact spinal cord development.

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Diffusion Tensor Imaging of the Normal Pediatric Spinal Cord Using an Inner Field of View Echo-Planar Imaging Sequence

Cited by 39 publications

References 39 publications

Diffusion Tensor Imaging of the Normal Cervical and Thoracic Pediatric Spinal Cord

Diffusion Tensor Imaging of the Normal Cervical and Thoracic Pediatric Spinal Cord

Diffusion Tensor Scalars Vary with Age and Across Spinal Levels in Children

Diffusion tensor imaging of fetal spinal cord: feasibility and gestational‐age‐related changes

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