DIFFUSION TENSOR IMAGING
Standardized CAT & MRI brain are often used to help identify concussions. However, these scans may appear normal in patients because they focus on the structure vs. the function of the brain.
Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) focusses on the function of the brain and was originally used for stroke patients, but this technology is so accurate that it is being newly introduced to help doctors determine if their patients are suffering from a concussion.
The circled front part of a DTI brain scan shows the most common tearing in the white matter in concussions.
DTI uses advanced software to get more detailed information from an MRI and allows us to obtain images of white matter.
White matter links areas of gray matter to produce thinking functions of the brain such as attention and memory.
If white matter is damaged by a concussion, the connections get disrupted and attention & memory are affected.
DTI dectects subtle damage by measuring the diffusion of water in the brains white matter, giving it an indication as to whether the tissues structural integrity has been affected.
Doctors hope that the mystery behind concussions can finally be solved through the use of DTI technology.
Identifying the microstructure of white matter connections is achieved by assessing the degree of water diffusion in the brain.