spinal cord diffasion tensor imaging and itsclinical applications

Abstract

DTI provides useful information about the direction of fibers and the diffusion anisotropy properties of neural tissue and complements the information obtained by conventional MRI. White matter fiber tracking in the brain is being used to help diagnose various clinical conditions, but its exact application in spinal imaging is largely unexplored. In future, fiber tracking and DTI indices may help the surgeon to determine their surgical approach. Correlation between quantitative diffusion measures, such as FA and ADC, and acute or chronic injuries of the spinal cord may be useful to predict outcome and monitor the response to treatment.

Spinal cord injury (SCI) results in functional disabilities in patients. it is important to develop a noninvasive imaging technique for early evaluation of spinal cord integrity after injury, X-ray and better CT are useful in delineating bony details and are important in preoperative planning , Magnetic resonant imaging (MRI) is the method of choice for detection and diagnosis of many disorders in the spine because of its inherent sensitivity to subtle soft tissue changes and its capability to displaying long segment of vertebral column in one examination. In the context of trauma MRI can detect ligamentous injury and internal derangement of the spinal cord.