Reliability of Tract-Specific Q-Space Imaging Metrics in Healthy Spinal Cord

Torben Schneider¹, Olga Ciccarelli², Carolina Kachramanoglou², David L. Thomas², Claudia AM Wheeler-Kingshott¹

For the first time we report reproducibility of q-space metrics acquired on a standard 3T clinical MRI scanner parallel and perpendicular to the major fibre tracts. We compare q-space imaging derived parameters in different ascending and descending tracts of the cervical spinal cord and investigate associations between q-space parameters and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC). We demonstrate good reproducibility of q-space imaging metrics, superior to simple ADC analysis. We conclude that q-space parameters provides complementary metrics that allow discrimination of white matter tracts in healthy controls that cannot be distinguished with ADC alone.