Diffusion Tensor Imaging: Introduction and Atlas

383 Pages·2013·36.387 MB·English

by  Dr. Bram Stieltjes, Prof. Dr. Romuald M. Brunner, Dr. Klaus H. Fritzsche, Dr. Frederik B. Laun (auth.)

Stieltjes · Brunner
Fritzsche · Laun
Diffusion Tensor
Imaging
Introduction
and Atlas

3-D
dataset
on CD
Diffusion Tensor Imaging
Bram Stieltjes
Romuald M. Brunner
Klaus H. Fritzsche
Frederik B. Laun
Diffusion Tensor Imaging
Introduction and Atlas
With 340 figures and CD-ROM
123
Dr. Bram Stieltjes Dr. Klaus H. Fritzsche
Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum (DKFZ) Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum (DKFZ)
Section Quantitative imaging-based disease characterization, Department of medical and biological informatics
department of radiology Im Neuenheimer Feld 580
Im Neuenheimer Feld 280 69120 Heidelberg
69120 Heidelberg Germany
Germany
Dr. Frederik B. Laun
Prof. Dr. Romuald M. Brunner Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum (DKFZ)
Heidelberg University Hospital, Department of psychiartry, Department of medical physics in radiology
Division child- and adolescent psychiatry Im Neuenheimer Feld 280
Blumenstr. 8 69120 Heidelberg
69115 Heidelberg Germany
Germany
Additional material to this book can be downloaded from http://extras.springer.com
ISBN-13 978-3-642-20455-5 ISBN 978-3-642-20456-2 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-20456-2
Springer Medizin
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V
Preface
Since the advent of diffusion tensor imaging in the mid-1990s, the field of in vivo representation of human
neuronal connectivity has experienced a dramatic development in terms of technological advances as well
as of applications in both neuroscience and clinical research. Although the main focus of this book is on the
depiction of neuroanatomy derived from diffusion imaging, we hope that with the »Introduction to Diffusion
Imaging,« the book will also be a good first point of reference for navigation of the currently overwhelmingly
extensive literature on diffusion imaging.
The making of this atlas was a far more interactive process than initially anticipated. For instance, to be able
to create reproducible image views and constant size representations, we had to redesign our fiber tracking
software and in many ways, over time, the final result evolved far from the original concept. We hope that the
resulting combination of two-dimensional T -weighted and color map-based anatomy enriched with the part
1
on three-dimensional white matter tract representation will help readers to quickly find their way in the most
fascinating of all mazes, the human brain.
Finally, we want to thank T. Kuder for corrections and graph preparation and Springer Heidelberg for
embarking with us on this adventurous journey; Mrs. R. Scheddin for the enthusiasm when we first presented
the idea of the atlas and Dr. C. Lerche and Mrs. C. Bauer for unrelenting support during the numerous iterations
and corrections.
Bram Stieltjes
Romuald M. Brunner
Klaus H. Fritzsche
Frederik B. Laun
Spring 2012
VII
Contents
I Introduction
How to Use this Atlas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1 Introduction to Diffusion Imaging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
1.1 Diffusion: A Primer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1.2 Timeline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
1.3 Theoretical Aspects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
1.4 Advanced Techniques: Fiber Tracking and Deviations from Mono-exponential Signal Decay . . . . . . . 23
1.5 Practical Aspects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
1.6 Selected Applications in Neuroscience . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
II Atlas

2 Two-dimensional Brain Slices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
2.1 Coronal View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
2.2 Sagittal View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
2.3 Transversal View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
3 Three-dimensional Fiber Tracking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 281
3.1 Fiber Tracking of the Cerebral Hemispheres . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283
3.2 Fiber Tracking of the Brain Stem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 351
III Appendix
Index Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 379
Index Atlas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 380
I
1
Section I
Introduction
How to Use this Atlas – 3
Chapter 1 Introduction to Diffusion Imaging – 5
3
How to Use this Atlas
4 How to Use this Atlas
j The Timeline and Introduction
The timeline and introduction sections can be seen as a primer
in diffusion imaging. Although the atlas focuses on directional
diffusion, we chose to give an outline of the complete diffusion
literature to come to a comprehensive overview. To make the
introduction accessible to readers with a different academic
background, we designed it so that the main body of the text is
understandable without specialist knowledge in physics or math-
ematics. More detailed information on the diffusion process and
calculations can be found in separate textboxes for further read-
ing. Thus, as your knowledge of diffusion increases, so may your
interest in the content of the textboxes.
j The Atlas
The atlas consists of two major parts: a two- and a three-dimen-
sional representation of fiber tracts.
In the two-dimensional part, we compare the conventional
T -weighted anatomy with a diffusion tensor imaging-derived
1
color map. In these maps, the directional orientation of fiber
tracts is color coded in the following fashion: tracts moving left-
right are coded red (e.g., the corpus callosum), anterior-posterior
tracts are coded green (e.g., the cingulum), and craniocaudal
tracts are coded blue (e.g., the corticospinal tract). The intensity
or hue indicates the fractional anisotropy, a measure of fiber den-
sity. The whole brain is covered in the three main radiological
planes: axial, coronal, and sagittal.
The three-dimensional part covers the most prominent white
matter connections in the human brain. The complete recon-
struction process is presented in a consistent, step-by-step fash-
ion. First, the relevance and anatomy of the tract are discussed
and an initial region of interest (ROI) is shown. This ROI is cho-
sen to yield an optimal final result and is shown in white. By using
inclusion (green) and exclusion (red) ROIs, the result is further
refined. The final result is represented without the ROIs in three
different planes as well as in an oblique view for optimal appre-
ciation of the anatomical location. The color coding of these
tracts is identical to the two-dimensional color maps. The intri-
cate anatomy of important adjacent tracts is further illustrated in
combined overviews. Here, each individual tract is represented
in monochrome to enhance the visualization of the complex in-
terwoven anatomy. Again, these results are represented in three
standard planes and an oblique view.
All tracts in the three-dimensional part are also indicated in
the two-dimensional part of the atlas, and flipping between these
parts will help readers to understand the projection of the three-
dimensional tract on the two-dimensional slices. Using the
T -weighted images, adjacency to important gray matter struc-
1
tures is captured. Thus, by interactively using the atlas, your
understanding of the complex neuroanatomical correlations
should grow continuously. To aid this process, the accompanying
CD contains all the tracts as illustrated in the atlas and allows you
to scroll through the data in an interactive fashion.
1
5
Introduction to Diffusion Imaging
1.1 Diffusion: A Primer – 6
1.2 Timeline – 7
1.3 Theoretical Aspects – 10
1.4 Advanced Techniques: Fiber Tracking and Deviations
from Mono-exponential Signal Decay – 23
1.5 Practical Aspects – 29
1.6 Selected Applications in Neuroscience – 33
1.7 References – 37
B. Stieltjes et al., Diffusion Tensor Imaging,
DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-20456-2_1,
© Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2013