M Alizadeh1,2,3, A Intintolo1,2, D M Middleton1,2,3, C J Conklin2,3,4, S H Faro1,2,4, M J Mulcahey5, F B Mohamed1,3,4. 1. Department of Bioengineering, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, USA. 2. Department of Radiology, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, USA. 3. Department of Radiology, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA, USA. 4. Department of Electrical Engineering, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, USA. 5. Department of Occupational Therapy, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia,PA, USA.
Abstract
STUDY DESIGN: Quantitative study. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the effectiveness of pediatric spinal cord diffusion tensor tractography (DTT) generated from reduced field of view diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) data and investigate whether there are differences in these values between typically developing (TD) subjects and patients with spinal cord injury (SCI). SETTING: Temple University Hospital and Shriners Hospitals for Children-Philadelphia, USA. METHODS: A total of 20 pediatric subjects including 10 healthy subjects (age 15.13±3.51 years (mean±s.d.) and age range 11-21 years) and 10 subjects with SCI in the cervical area (age 13.8±3.26 years and age range 8-20 years) were recruited, and scanned using a 3.0T MR scanner. Quantitative parameters of DTI and fiber tracking, such as mean fractional anisotropy (FA), apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC), mean length of fiber tracts and tract density, were calculated for each subject. RESULTS: Subjects with SCI showed reduced FA and tract density, and increased ADC values and length of fiber tracts, compared with controls. Statistically significant differences were seen in FA (P=0.0238) and tract density (P=0.0005) between controls and subjects with SCI, whereas there were no significant differences in ADC values and length of fiber tracts. The tractography visually showed that the white matter tracts (blue color) of the SCI patients were overall less abundant and less organized compared with control cases. CONCLUSION: The results show that DTI and DTT could be used as surrogate markers for quantification and visualization of the injured spinal cord.
STUDY DESIGN: Quantitative study. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the effectiveness of pediatric spinal cord diffusion tensor tractography (DTT) generated from reduced field of view diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) data and investigate whether there are differences in these values between typically developing (TD) subjects and patients with spinal cord injury (SCI). SETTING: Temple University Hospital and Shriners Hospitals for Children-Philadelphia, USA. METHODS: A total of 20 pediatric subjects including 10 healthy subjects (age 15.13±3.51 years (mean±s.d.) and age range 11-21 years) and 10 subjects with SCI in the cervical area (age 13.8±3.26 years and age range 8-20 years) were recruited, and scanned using a 3.0T MR scanner. Quantitative parameters of DTI and fiber tracking, such as mean fractional anisotropy (FA), apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC), mean length of fiber tracts and tract density, were calculated for each subject. RESULTS: Subjects with SCI showed reduced FA and tract density, and increased ADC values and length of fiber tracts, compared with controls. Statistically significant differences were seen in FA (P=0.0238) and tract density (P=0.0005) between controls and subjects with SCI, whereas there were no significant differences in ADC values and length of fiber tracts. The tractography visually showed that the white matter tracts (blue color) of the SCI patients were overall less abundant and less organized compared with control cases. CONCLUSION: The results show that DTI and DTT could be used as surrogate markers for quantification and visualization of the injured spinal cord.
Authors: Laura Krisa; Devon M Middleton; Sona Saksena; Scott H Faro; Benjamin E Leiby; Feroze B Mohamed; M J Mulcahey Journal: Top Spinal Cord Inj Rehabil Date: 2022-04-12
Authors: Mahdi Alizadeh; Chris J Conklin; Devon M Middleton; Pallav Shah; Sona Saksena; Laura Krisa; Jürgen Finsterbusch; Scott H Faro; M J Mulcahey; Feroze B Mohamed Journal: Magn Reson Imaging Date: 2017-11-15 Impact factor: 2.546
Authors: Mahdi Alizadeh; Pallav Shah; Chris J Conklin; Devon M Middleton; Sona Saksena; Adam E Flanders; Laura Krisa; M J Mulcahey; Scott H Faro; Feroze B Mohamed Journal: J Digit Imaging Date: 2018-08 Impact factor: 4.056
Authors: Mahdi Alizadeh; Joshua Fisher; Sona Saksena; Yusra Sultan; Chris J Conklin; Devon M Middleton; Jürgen Finsterbusch; Laura Krisa; Adam E Flanders; Scott H Faro; M J Mulcahey; Feroze B Mohamed Journal: J Neurotrauma Date: 2017-12-18 Impact factor: 5.269