Diffusion MR Imaging in Mild Traumatic Brain Injury

Neuroimaging Clin N Am. 2018 Feb;28(1):117-126. doi: 10.1016/j.nic.2017.09.009.

Abstract

Remarkable advances have been made in the last decade in the use of diffusion MR imaging to study mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). Diffusion imaging shows differences between mTBI patients and healthy control groups in multiple different metrics using a variety of techniques, supporting the notion that there are microstructural injuries in mTBI patients that radiologists have been insensitive to. Future areas of discovery in diffusion MR imaging and mTBI include larger longitudinal studies to better understand the evolution of the injury and unravel the biophysical meaning that the detected changes in diffusion MR imaging represent.

Keywords: Advanced imaging; DWI; Diffusion; Kurtosis; MR imaging; Mild traumatic brain injury.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Brain / diagnostic imaging
  • Brain Concussion / diagnostic imaging*
  • Diffusion Tensor Imaging / methods*
  • Humans
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging / methods*