Magnetic resonance diffusion tensor imaging and fiber-tracking diffusion tensor tractography in the management of spinal astrocytomas

Some specially imaging of magnetic resonance imaging, the diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI), the diffusion tensor imaging and fractional anisotropy (FA), are useful to described, detect, and map the extent of spinal cord lesions. FA measurements may are used to predicting the outcome of patients who have spinal cord lesions. Fiber tracking enable to visualizing the integrity of white matter tracts surrounding some lesions, and this information could be used to formulating a differential diagnosis and planning biopsies or resection. In this article, we will describe the current uses for DWI and fiber tracking and speculate on others in which we believe these techniques will be useful in the future.