• Michael B Salmela, Keith A Cauley, Trevor Andrews, Jay V Gonyea, Izabela Tarasiewicz, and Christopher G Filippi.
• Department of Radiology, University of Vermont College of Medicine-Fletcher Allen Health Care, Burlington, VY 05401, USA. msalmela@uvm.edu
• Pediatr Neurosurg. 2009 Jan 1;45(6):467-71.

Background/AimsAs a preoperative planning tool, conventional magnetic resonance (MR) imaging may have limited value in differentiating tumors from white matter tracts. MR diffusion tensor imaging (MRDTI) has become a useful tool for evaluating white matter tracts in relation to surrounding structures and has been used in surgical planning for brain tumors involving white matter. We investigated the use of DTI of the optic nerves in surgical planning for pediatric suprasellar tumors.MethodsWe present findings in 10 pediatric control patients and 2 cases of pediatric suprasellar tumors in which a routine 6-direction DTI of the brain was performed at 3 T. Postprocessing permitted the study of the diffusion tensor parameters, as well as the tractography, of the optic nerves.ResultsThe control patients demonstrated the optimization of the technique and permitted the quantitation of fractional anisotropy and apparent diffusion coefficient values. The tumor cases demonstrated the utility of optic nerve DTI to differentiate between optic nerves and suprasellar/chiasmatic brain tumors.ConclusionsA routine 6-direction DTI of the pediatric brain at 3 T permits a detailed DTI study of the optic nerves. Optic nerve tractography can be used to aid in the evaluation and treatment of pediatric brain tumors in the area of the optic chiasm.Copyright 2010 S. Karger AG, Basel.

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