Combined Diffusion Tensor and Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopic Imaging Methodology for Automated Regional Brain Analysis: Application in a Normal Pediatric Population

摘要: During human brain development, anatomic regions mature at different rates. Quantitative anatomy-specific analysis of longitudinal diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and magnetic resonance spectroscopic (MRSI) data may improve our ability to quantify categorize these maturational changes. Computational tools designed quickly fuse analyze information from multiple, technically datasets would facilitate research on changes during normal maturation for comparison disease states. In the current study, we developed a complete battery computational execute such analyses that include preprocessing, tract-based statistical DTI data, automated anatomy parsing T1-weighted MR images, assignment metabolite MRSI co-alignment multimodality streams reporting region-specific indices. We present regional in cohort pediatric subjects (n = 72; age range: 5-18 years; mean 12.7 ± 3.3 years) establish normative evaluate trends. Several showed significant several parameters ratios, but percent change over range tended be small. subcortical region (combined basal ganglia [BG], thalami [TH], corpus callosum [CC]), largest combined was 10% increase fractional anisotropy (FA) primarily due increases BG (12.7%) TH (9%). The N-acetylaspartate (NAA)/creatine (Cr) ratio seen stem (BS) (18.8%) followed by (11.9%), CC (8.9%), (6.0%). found consistent, (p < 0.01), weakly positive correlations (r 0.228-0.329) between NAA/Cr ratios FA BS, BG, regions. Age- ranges show are requisite detecting abnormalities an injured or diseased population.