Visualization of organic brain disease by fusion of white matter fiber tracking and intercortical functional connectome analysis

2016 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 26461824
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Radiation science
• Research Institution: Kyoto University
• Principal Investigator: TSUTOMU OKADA 京都大学, 医学研究科, 特定病院助教 (40726824)
• Project Period (FY): 2014-04-01 – 2017-03-31
• Keywords: 拡散強調MRI / NODDI / tractography / 運動ニューロン病 / 大脳皮質機能分布

Outline of Final Research Achievements

High-speed MR imaging acquisition method using multiband RF excitation was established. As a result, a new diffusion MR analysis method (NODDI) have been available. Different from diffusion tensor imaging which describe white matter anisotropy as an simple ellipsoid model, NODDI can delineate the microstructure of the cerebral cortex as well as white matter by calculating two independent indices; neurite density and axonal orientation dispersion. From the NODDI data, high angular resolution diffusion imaging was simultaneously obtained, which was able to be applied to q-ball imaging based fiber tractogarphy.
Our two ongoing studies are as follows; creation of cerebral cortical functional segmentation according to cortical microstructure using NODDI, and to establish corticospinal tract tractography that is capable of estimating the motor function disability in motor neuron disease patients using q-ball imaging.

Free Research Field

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