Impact of Fiber Tracking on Neurosurgery Using an Intra-Operative 3.0T MR System

Sanju Lama¹, Boguslaw Tomanek², Garnette R. Sutherland¹

Intra-operative MR imaging (iMRI) and fiber tracking using Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) provides 3D knowledge of white matter tracts anatomy and their relationship to neurosurgical pathology intra-operatively. Image quality and definition is dependent on magnetic and gradient field strengths. A single center prospective study including 177 patients using 3.0T iMRI system, showed that intra-operative DTI tractography can be a valuable adjunct to neurosurgery affecting neurosurgical planning in up to 16% of cases. Furthermore such a discipline provided an excellent educational forum for the discussion of white matter anatomy in relation to the target lesion amongst residents and staff neurosurgeons.