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Abstract #2033

High Angular Resolution Diffusion Imaging (HARDI) Analysis of the Motor Pathway in Infants

Jeffrey I. Berman1, Sonia L. Bonifacio2, Roland G. Henry1, Donna M. Ferriero2,3, Hannah C. Glass2, A James Barkovich1, Duan Xu1

1Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States; 2Pediatrics, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States; 3Neurology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States


High angular resolution diffusion imaging (HARDI) was used to examine white matter microstructre in 3 and 6 month old infants with a history of birth asphyxia. Residual-bootstrap probabilistic q-ball tractography was used to delineate the motor pathway. As in adults, the motor tract intersects other white matter tracts in the centrum semiovale and q-ball fiber tractography could traverse these regions. Diffusion parameters were measured in the 3D region defined by fiber tractography. This study demonstrates the feasibility of using in-vivo HARDI to discriminate complex white matter architecture in infants within a reasonable exam time.

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