Characterizing Diffusion Along White Matter Tracts Affected by Primary Brain Tumors

Monica E. Lemmond, Lauren J. O'Donnell, Stephen Whalen, Alexandra J. Golby
Human Brain Mapping 2007
2007

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Abstract

Primary brain tumors lead to changes in the diffusion properties of white matter due to edema, infiltration, tract displacement and destruction. Despite investigation of diffusion changes in white matter bordering tumors, these changes have not been quantitatively determined along the length of white matter tracts that may be affected by a tumor. Mean diffusivity (MD), related to total water diffusion, is approximately constant in white matter but increases with edema. The diffusivity parallel and perpendicular to fiber tracts is altered in the region of a tumor; however, the pattern of diffusion measurements along the tracts has not been investigated. Here we present two cases in which we measured the mean diffusivity, parallel diffusivity, and perpendicular diffusivity along the length of surgically relevant tracts.

covariance tensor visualization
Surgically relevant white matter tracts involved in the tumor region, and the corresponding healthy tracts on the contralateral side, were identified (tracts represented in yellow and tumor region represented in green).

Reference

Lemmond ME, O'Donnell LJ, Whalen S, Golby AJ. Characterizing diffusion along white matter tracts affected by primary brain tumors. In Human Brain Mapping 2007. 2007;.

Bibtex entry

@InProceedings{lemmondHBM07,
  author         = {Monica E. Lemmond and Lauren J. O'Donnell and Stephen      
                   Whalen and  Alexandra J. Golby},                            
  title          = {Characterizing Diffusion Along White Matter Tracts Affected
                   by  Primary Brain Tumors},                                  
  booktitle      = {Human Brain Mapping 2007},                                 
  year           = {2007}, }