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Abstract #1190

Probabilistic Tracking Can Improve the Delineation of Cortico-Spinal Tract for Neurosurgical Planning

Maria Luisa Mandelli1, Mitchel S. Berger2, Jeffrey I. Berman3, Bagrat Amirbekian3, Elio C. Maccagnano1, Roland G. Henry3,4

1Department of Neuroradiology, Istituto Neurologico C. Besta, Milano, MI, Italy; 2Department of Neurological Surgery, UCSF, San Francisco; 3Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, UCSF, San Francisco, CA, USA; 4Graduate Group in Bioengineering, UCSF, San Francisco, CA, USA


Fiber tracking based on diffusion MRI is the only technique able to localize in vivo the white matter pathways in the brain. In this work we compared the probabilistic residual bootstrap and determinstic FACT tracking methods using clinically feasible diffusion data acquired pre-operatively, and intra-operative cortical and subcortical electrical stimulations, in patients with cerebral tumors. We showed that the probabilistic fiber tracking is a promising method to estimate the actual subcortical size of the cortico-spinal tract and to define the tracts directed to the upper-extremity motor sites compared with the streamline method.