Tractography methods and findings in brain tumors and traumatic brain injury

Fang-Cheng Yeh; Andrei Irimia; Dhiego Chaves de Almeida Bastos; Alexandra J Golby

doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2021.118651

Tractography methods and findings in brain tumors and traumatic brain injury

Neuroimage. 2021 Dec 15:245:118651. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2021.118651. Epub 2021 Oct 18.

Authors

Fang-Cheng Yeh¹, Andrei Irimia², Dhiego Chaves de Almeida Bastos³, Alexandra J Golby⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Neurological Surgery, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Department of Bioengineering, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. Electronic address: frank.yeh@pitt.edu.
² Ethel Percy Andrus Gerontology Center, Leonard Davis School of Gerontology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA; Corwin D. Denney Research Center, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Viterbi School of Engineering, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA.
³ Department of Neurosurgery, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
⁴ Department of Neurosurgery, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Department of Radiology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.

Abstract

White matter fiber tracking using diffusion magnetic resonance imaging (dMRI) provides a noninvasive approach to map brain connections, but improving anatomical accuracy has been a significant challenge since the birth of tractography methods. Utilizing tractography in brain studies therefore requires understanding of its technical limitations to avoid shortcomings and pitfalls. This review explores tractography limitations and how different white matter pathways pose different challenges to fiber tracking methodologies. We summarize the pros and cons of commonly-used methods, aiming to inform how tractography and its related analysis may lead to questionable results. Extending these experiences, we review the clinical utilization of tractography in patients with brain tumors and traumatic brain injury, starting from tensor-based tractography to more advanced methods. We discuss current limitations and highlight novel approaches in the context of these two conditions to inform future tractography developments.

Keywords: Diffusion MRI; brain tumor; fiber tracking; glioma; tractography; traumatic brain injury.

Tractography methods and findings in brain tumors and traumatic brain injury

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Abstract

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