TY - JOUR
T1 - Diffusion tensor MRI of the healthy brachial plexus
AU - Oudeman, Jos
AU - Verhamme, Camiel
AU - Engbersen, Maurits P.
AU - Caan, Mattan W. A.
AU - Maas, Mario
AU - Froeling, Martijn
AU - Nederveen, Aart J.
AU - Strijkers, Gustav J.
PY - 2018
Y1 - 2018
N2 - Introduction Diffusion Tensor MRI (DT-MRI) is a promising tool for the evaluation of brachial plexus pathology. Therefore, we introduce and evaluate a fast DT-MRI protocol (8min33s scanning with 5–10 min postprocessing time) for the brachial plexus. Materials and methods Thirty healthy volunteers within three age-groups (18–35, 36–55, and > 56) received DT-MRI of the brachial-plexus twice. Means of fractional-anisotropy (FA), mean-diffusivity (MD), axial-diffusivity (AD), and radial-diffusivity (RD) for the individual roots and trunks were evaluated. A stepwise forward approach was applied to test for correlations with age, sex, body-mass-index (BMI), bodysurface, height, and bodyweight. Within-subject, intra-rater, and inter-rater repeatability were assessed using Bland-Altman analysis, coefficient of variation (CV), intraclass-correlation (ICC), and minimal detectable difference (MDD). Results No differences between sides and root levels were found. MD, AD, and RD correlated (P < 0.05) with bodyweight. Within-subject quantification proved repeatable with CVs for FA, MD, AD, and RD of 16%, 12%, 11%, and 14%, respectively. Discussion The DT-MRI protocol was fast and repeatable. Found correlations should be considered in future studies of brachial plexus pathology.
AB - Introduction Diffusion Tensor MRI (DT-MRI) is a promising tool for the evaluation of brachial plexus pathology. Therefore, we introduce and evaluate a fast DT-MRI protocol (8min33s scanning with 5–10 min postprocessing time) for the brachial plexus. Materials and methods Thirty healthy volunteers within three age-groups (18–35, 36–55, and > 56) received DT-MRI of the brachial-plexus twice. Means of fractional-anisotropy (FA), mean-diffusivity (MD), axial-diffusivity (AD), and radial-diffusivity (RD) for the individual roots and trunks were evaluated. A stepwise forward approach was applied to test for correlations with age, sex, body-mass-index (BMI), bodysurface, height, and bodyweight. Within-subject, intra-rater, and inter-rater repeatability were assessed using Bland-Altman analysis, coefficient of variation (CV), intraclass-correlation (ICC), and minimal detectable difference (MDD). Results No differences between sides and root levels were found. MD, AD, and RD correlated (P < 0.05) with bodyweight. Within-subject quantification proved repeatable with CVs for FA, MD, AD, and RD of 16%, 12%, 11%, and 14%, respectively. Discussion The DT-MRI protocol was fast and repeatable. Found correlations should be considered in future studies of brachial plexus pathology.
UR - https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?partnerID=HzOxMe3b&scp=85046736451&origin=inward
UR - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29742154
U2 - https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0196975
DO - https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0196975
M3 - Article
C2 - 29742154
SN - 1932-6203
VL - 13
JO - PLOS ONE
JF - PLOS ONE
IS - 5
M1 - e0196975
ER -