Till Örebro universitet

Aim of the study: Presentation of diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) performed at low magnetic field (1 Tesla) in the algorithm of work-up of a patient suffering from severe traumatic brain injury (TBI).

Method: DTI and functional MRI (fMRI) were applied at 1 Tesla for visualization of neural pathways and examination of sensory functions of a patient with severe TBI. DTI-measurement was also performed on a healthy patient for comparison.

Results: DTI acquired at low magnetic field yielded appropriate visualization of neural pathways. DTI confirmed the results of the clinical and fMRI examinations in the patient suffering from severe TBI.

Conclusion: An optimized DTI can be useful in the examination of patients with TBI, moreover, it may also help in the establishment of diagnoses of other central nervous system diseases affecting neuronal pathways. The presented results suggest that DTI of appropriate quality can be performed at low magnetic field.