Assessing Spinal Cord Compression Using Diffusion Tensor Imaging

Begin with a human participant positioned inside an MRI scanner.

Acquire sagittal and axial images of the cervical spinal cord.

Align the axial positioning line with the sagittal image to minimize imaging errors.

Next, set the MRI for diffusion tensor imaging to visualize the movement of water molecules.

In a healthy spinal cord, water diffusion occurs along the axons, whereas in compressed regions, axonal damage disrupts this directional diffusion.

Acquire images and define spherical regions of interest, excluding cerebrospinal fluid, to reduce artifacts.

Generate color maps based on fractional anisotropy (FA) values, which indicate the directionality of water diffusion, and the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values, which measure overall diffusion magnitude.

Compare these maps of a compressed spinal cord with a healthy one.

In the compressed spinal cord, altered FA map patterns in the region of interest indicate axonal damage, while altered ADC map patterns suggest changes in water diffusion, highlighting spinal cord compression.

Before beginning the imaging procedure, provide earplugs to the participant, and help the participant into a comfortable supine position. Place the head-n