Diffusion Tensor Imaging of Cerebral White Matter*Diffusion Tensor Imaging des zerebralen Marklagers

Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) of the cerebral white matter has proven to be a promising tool with regard to demonstration of developmental changes during childhood and older age and of pathologic alterations by calculation of parameter maps of mean diffusivity (MD) and fractional anisotropy (FA) as well as to image the positions of the major fiber tracts by tractography. After a methodological introduction, the experiences with DTI collected in Mainz, Germany, during the last 5 years are presented. Special emphasis is on preoperative imaging of the corticospinal tract and optic radiation and the computation of FA-based templates (atlases) which can be used for observer-independent evaluation of FA and MD group differences and supra- and infratentorial probabilistic tractography.