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. 2021 Jul;51(8):1471-1480.
doi: 10.1007/s00247-021-05000-3. Epub 2021 Apr 24.

The impact of susceptibility correction on diffusion metrics in adolescents

Katri Lahti  1   2 , Riitta Parkkola  3 , Päivi Jääsaari  4 , Leena Haataja  5 , Virva Saunavaara  6   7 ; PIPARI Study Group
Collaborators, Affiliations

The impact of susceptibility correction on diffusion metrics in adolescents

Katri Lahti et al. Pediatr Radiol. 2021 Jul.

Abstract

Background: Diffusion tensor imaging is a widely used imaging method of brain white matter, but it is prone to imaging artifacts. The data corrections can affect the measured values.

Objective: To explore the impact of susceptibility correction on diffusion metrics.

Materials and methods: A cohort of 27 healthy adolescents (18 boys, 9 girls, mean age 12.7 years) underwent 3-T MRI, and we collected two diffusion data sets (anterior-posterior). The data were processed both with and without susceptibility artifact correction. We derived fractional anisotropy, mean diffusivity and histogram data of fiber length distribution from both the corrected and uncorrected data, which were collected from the corpus callosum, corticospinal tract and cingulum bilaterally.

Results: Fractional anisotropy and mean diffusivity values significantly differed when comparing the pathways in all measured tracts. The fractional anisotropy values were lower and the mean diffusivity values higher in the susceptibility-corrected data than in the uncorrected data. We found a significant difference in total tract length in the corpus callosum and the corticospinal tract.

Conclusion: This study indicates that susceptibility correction has a significant effect on measured fractional anisotropy, and on mean diffusivity values and tract lengths. To receive reliable and comparable results, the correction should be used systematically.

Keywords: Adolescents; Brain; Diffusion tensor imaging; Magnetic resonance imaging; Susceptibility correction; Tractography.

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Conflict of interest statement

No funding was received especially for this study. However, the study was funded with grants supporting the PIPARI study group. The supporting nonprofit foundations were the Arvo and Lea Ylppö Foundation and the Foundation for Pediatric Research. Also, Finnish state funding for university-level health research was received for this study. The Tyks Foundation provided a workstead for writing.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Corrected and uncorrected analysis pathways. FSL FMRIB Software Library
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Bland–Altman plots and linear regression models. a–d Mean diffusivity values for the corpus callosum (a), corticospinal tract (b), left cingulum (c) and right cingulum (d)
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Bland–Altman plots and linear regression models. a–d Fractional anisotropy values for the corpus callosum (a), corticospinal tract (b), left cingulum (c) and right cingulum (d)
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
The statistically significant linear regression models of the Bland–Altman plots of the area under the curve values — in other words, total tract length distribution. a, b Area under the curve values for the corpus callosum (a) and corticospinal tract (b)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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