Pictorial essay: How co-registered BOLD fMRI and DTI data can improve diffusion tensor tractography

Abstract

Diffusion tensor tractography (DTT) and blood oxygen level dependent fMRI are tools frequently used in the preoperative evaluation of patients with brain tumors. A major limitation of DTT is difficulty in obtaining a relatively complete, useful representation of a white matter tract of interest due to challenges with artificial truncation of tracts. This pictorial essay will illustrate how coregistration of fMRI and DTI can be performed in clinical practice to obtain better, more complete tractograms of the pyramidal tract and arcuate fasciculus in patients with brain tumors.

Keywords

• fMRI
• DTI
• Tractography