Mean diffusivity, fractional anisotropy maps, and three-dimensional white-matter tractography by diffusion tensor imaging. Comparison between single-shot fast spin-echo and single-shot echo-planar sequences at 1.5 Tesla

Single-shot fast spin-echo (SSFSE)-based magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has been introduced as a technique with less distortion and fewer artifacts for diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). The purpose of this study was to compare mean diffusivity maps, fractional anisotropy (FA) maps, and three-dimensional white-matter tractography using data obtained with SSFSE diffusion-tensor MRI technique and the much more common DTI method, echo-planar imaging (EPI), in the brain using a 1.5-Tesla clinical MR imager. Thirty patients with neurological disorders were scanned with both SSFSE-DTI and EPI-DTI using comparable scan times. Mean diffusivity and FA maps were calculated from the SSFSE-DTI and EPI-DTI data and qualitatively compared using two criteria. Three-dimensional fiber tracking was also performed on each data set. SSFSE-DTI produced image artifacts less frequently than EPI-DTI. However, demonstration of three-dimensional fiber-tracking of white matter on SSFSE-DTI was inferior to that on EPI-DTI. In conclusion, SSFSE-DTI is a promising alternative to conventional EPI-DTI imaging, producing fewer image artifacts and geometric distortions. However, for 3D streamline fiber-tracking, EPI data produced more consistent and reliable results.