Clinical feasibility of multi-band diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) using simultaneous multi-slice acquisition for presurgical planning: Comparisons with standard DTI in patients with brain tumor

Standard diffusion tensor imaging (s-DTI) is currently utilized during presurgical planning to visualize white matter tracts despite its long scanning time. Multi-band DTI (mb-DTI) utilizes simultaneous multi-slice excitation, which greatly reduces scanning time and increases coverage. In this study, 42 patients with brain tumor were analyzed using mb-DTI and s-DTI in the arcuate fasciculus and corticospinal tract, two critical white matter tracts for language and motor function, respectively. When using mb-DTI, scanning time was reduced by 40% and the image quality and quantitative parameters were preserved. This study demonstrated the clinical feasibility and potential advantages of mb-DTI during presurgical planning