Investig Magn Reson Imaging.  2019 Mar;23(1):26-33. 10.13104/imri.2019.23.1.26.

Mini-Review of Studies Reporting the Repeatability and Reproducibility of Diffusion Tensor Imaging

• Seo JP
• Kwon YH
• Jang SH

• KMID: 2442230
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.13104/imri.2019.23.1.26

Abstract

PURPOSE
Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) data must be analyzed by an analyzer after data processing. Hence, the analyzed data of DTI might depend on the analyzer, making it a major limitation. This paper reviewed previous DTI studies reporting the repeatability and reproducibility of data from the corticospinal tract (CST), one of the most actively researched neural tracts on this topic.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Relevant studies published between January 1990 and December 2018 were identified by searching PubMed, Google Scholar, and MEDLINE electronic databases using the following keywords: DTI, diffusion tensor tractography, reliability, repeatability, reproducibility, and CST. As a result, 15 studies were selected.
RESULTS
Measurements of the CSTs using region of interest methods on 2-dimensional DTI images generally showed excellent repeatability and reproducibility of more than 0.8 but high variability (0.29 to 1.00) between studies. In contrast, measurements of the CST using the 3-dimensional DTT method not only revealed excellent repeatability and reproducibility of more than 0.9 but also low variability (repeatability, 0.88 to 1.00; reproducibility, 0.82 to 0.99) between studies.
CONCLUSION
Both 2-dimensional DTI and 3-dimensional DTT methods appeared to be reliable for measuring the CST but the 3-dimensional DTT method appeared to be more reliable.

Keyword

Diffusion tensor imaging; Diffusion tensor tractography; Corticospinal tract; Repeatability; Reproducibility

MeSH Terms

Diffusion Tensor Imaging*
Diffusion*
Methods
Pyramidal Tracts

Figure

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  Fig. 1. Measurement of parameters using the region of interest on diffusion tensor imaging (a) and using the reconstructed corticospinal tract on diffusion tensor tractography (b).

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  Fig. 2. (a) First and second regions of interest (ROIs: roundly drawn area) are applied to the corticospinal areas in the upper pons and mid-pons, respectively. (b) The reconstructed corticospinal tracts that are commonly passed through the first and second ROIS.

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  Fig. 3. Flow diagram of the approach used to select the studies to be reviewed.

Reference

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