Probabilistic Tractography Algorithms for Tracking the Optic Radiation (OR): Are They Ready for the Neurosurgeon?

Bradford A. Moffat¹, Jeremy Lim¹, Pramit Phal¹, Christopher Kokkinos¹, Patricia M. Desmond¹

The OR is a very important white matter structure that has proven to be problematic to track using DWI tractography algorithms. The aim of this research was to investigate whether diffusion weighted MRI (DWI) data acquired within a clinical neuroradiology MRI protocol could be used to accurately and robustly visualize the OR. The results of this study show constrained spherical deconvolution methods to have significant performance advantages over traditional tensor based tractography algorithms. Such comparative studies are necessary to validate tractography as clinical tool for neuronavigation and biomarker of axonal integrity.