• DTI is a non-invasive invivo method for assessment of the structural integrity of the white matter tracts.
• It detects macro-structural and micro-structural abnormalities.
• DTI simply depends on the normal Brownian motion of the water molecules. In CSF, water molecules are freely mobile and have low ADC, while in white matter tracts, the diffusion is not the same in every direction due to neuro-glial packing and myelination.
• Isotropic diffusion of molecules occurs in white matter tracts, as molecules diffuse mainly in one directioncranio-caudally.
Aim of work
• Assess the cervical cord using diffusion tensor imaging and measuring the fraction anisotropy and mean diffusivity in subjects with normal cervical cord showing no lesions, to define their normal values and ranges.
Patients
• The study included 10 normal subjects, males and females, with no cervical cord lesions with age ranging from 20 to 40years old.
Methods
All patients were subjected to the following:
1. Informed consent.
2. Full clinical examination and history taking.
3. MRI examination, including conventional MRI sequences, T1 and T2 in axial and sagittal views, followed by DTI sequences.
4. Post imaging processing by placing 6ROIs within the cervical cord section at the level of CV2/3 level and measuring FA and MD in each ROIs using Syngo software.
5. FA and MD were tabulated, statistical analysis were done to determine the normal values.