Functional MRI of the spinal cord: Diffusion-weighted, diffusion tensor imaging, and fiber tractography

Abstract

Diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI), diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), fiber tractography (FT), and blood oxygen level-dependent functional magnetic resonance imaging (BOLD fMRI) in the brain have seen progressive translation from the laboratory to the clinic in the past decade. In many clinics and institutions, DWI and DTI are part of the routine clinical MRI examination. At our institution, pre-surgical mapping of the eloquent brain is also commonly performed. More recently, these challenging advanced MR imaging techniques have been applied to an even more challenging part of the central nervous system, namely the spinal cord. There are major challenges to imaging the spinal cord.