Diffusion tensor imaging of the kidney in healthy controls and in children and young adults with autosomal recessive polycystic kidney disease

Abstract

Objective-To compare diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) of the kidneys and its derived parameters in children with autosomal recessive polycystic kidney disease (ARPKD) versus healthy controls.Methods-In a prospective IRB-approved study, we evaluated the use of DTI to compare kidney parenchyma FA values in healthy controls (age-matched children with no history of renal disease) versus patients with ARPKD. A 20-direction DTI with b-values of b = 0 s/mm 2 and b = 400 s/mm 2 was used to acquire data in coronal direction using a fat-suppressed spinecho echo-planar sequence. Diffusion Toolkit and TrackVis were used for analysis and segmentation. TrackVis was used to draw regions of interest (ROIs) covering the entire volume of the renal parenchyma, excluding the collecting system. Fibers were reconstructed using a deterministic fiber tracking algorithm. The FA values based on the ROI data, mean length, and volume of the tracks based on the fiber tracking data were recorded.Results-Eight healthy controls (mean age = 12.9 years ± 4.0; 1/8 males) and six ARPKD participants (mean age = 13.8 years ± 8.5; 5/6 males) were included in the study. Compared to healthy controls, patients with ARPKD had significantly lower FA values (0.33 ± 0.03 vs. 0.25 ± 0.02, p = 0.002) and mean track length (16.73 ± 3.43 vs. 11.61 ± 1.29 mm, p = 0.005). Conclusion-DTIof the kidneys shows significantly lower FA values and mean track length in children and young adults with ARPKD compared to normal subjects. DTI of the kidney offers a novel approach for characterizing renal disease based on changes in diffusion anisotropy and kidney structure.

Usefulness of readout-segmented EPI-based diffusion tensor imaging of lacrimal gland for detection and disease staging in thyroid-associated ophthalmopathy

“…FA represents the directionality of diffusion of water molecules and could reflect integrity of microstructural architectures [ 15 – 17 ]. As a novel finding of this study, TAO patients were detected to have decreased FA values of LG than healthy subjects.…”

“…The extracted apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) and fractional anisotropy (FA) values can reflect the magnitude and directionality of water diffusion, respectively [ 11 , 12 ]. Beyond the initial application in fiber bundles like nerves and muscles [ 13 , 14 ], the metrics have been increasingly extended to assess the microstructural architecture of various normal and diseased tissues, including breast, prostate, liver, kidney and so on [ 15 – 17 ]. In head and neck domain, besides the previous applications on muscles of tongue, orbit and pterygoid [ 18 , 19 ], recent studies also showed the usefulness of DTI in diagnosing salivary gland tumors [ 20 , 21 ].…”

Diffusion tensor imaging pipeline measures of cerebral white matter integrity: An overview of recent advances and prospects

“…Pipeline 3 (P3) consists of MRI Converter version 2.1.0, FSL toolbox, Diffusion toolkit, and TrackVIs[ 70 ]. DTI-Toolkit is a spatial normalization and atlas construction toolkit optimized to examine white matter morphometry using DTI data[ 81 ]. It supports a standard-based IO file such as NIfTI.…”

“…TrackVis can read in the track data file and visualizes and analyses the tracks by user’s manipulation. TrackVis can read entire brain track information typically more noteworthy than 15 megabytes for a high-determination human output and permits the user to apply different track channels to choose and showcase fiber bundles[ 81 ].…”

Diffusion tensor imaging based multiparametric characterization of renal lesions in infants with urinary tract infections: an explorative study

“…multiparametric DTI, can provide further information that may improve the characterization of renal lesions in infants with symptomatic UTI. Recent studies have shown the potential of the technique to evaluate renal pathology in older children [13][14][15][16][17]. It has also been shown that free breathing DTI is feasible and can generate images with higher quality compared to conventional DWI in children with acute pyelonephritis [18].…”