A comparison of diffusion tensor imaging tractography approaches to identify the frontal aslant tract in neurosurgical patients

Sara Kierońska-Siwak ^1,2* Patryk Filipiak ³ Magdalena Jabłońska ^2,4 Paweł Sokal ^1,2

• ¹ Department of Neurosurgery, Functional and Stereotactic Neurosurgery, Collegium Medicum, Nicolaus Copernicus University, 85-168 Bydgoszcz, Poland, Bydgoszcz, Poland
• ² Department of Neurosurgery and Neurology, Jan Biziel University Hospital No 2, Collegium Medicum, Nicolaus Copernicus University, 85-168 Bydgoszcz, Poland, Bydgoszcz, Poland
• ³ 2 Center for Advanced Imaging Innovation and Research (CAI2R), NYU Langone Health, New York, NY, USA, New York, United States
• ⁴ Doctoral School of Medical and Health Sciences, Collegium Medicum, Nicolaus Copernicus University, 85- 067 Bydgoszcz, Poland, Bydgoszcz, Poland

I troductio : This study aims to prese t various tractography methods for deli eati g the Fro tal Asla t Tract (FAT) a d to qua tify morphological features of FAT based o diffusio te sor imagi g.The study i cludes 68 patie ts, for which FAT was reco structed usi g the Regio Of I terest (ROI)-based approach. The ROIs were defi ed i either SFG -Superior Fro tal Gyrus (ROI 1), or SMA -Suppleme tary Motor Area (ROI 2). The respective e dpoi ts were located i the I ferior Fro tal Gyrus (IFG) -either i pars opercularis or i pars tria gularis. For each patie t, FAT was deli eated usi g four combi atio s of the above ROI-e dpoi t pairs.Results:The highest streamli e cou ts a d fiber volumes of FAT were obtai ed usi g ROI 1 (i.e., SFG) with the e dpoi t i IFG pars opercularis. All subjects expressed left domi a ce of the pathway qua tified by the higher streamli e cou ts a d fiber volumes regardless of ge der. Additio ally, higher Mea Diffusivity (MD) a d lower Fractio al A isotropy (FA) values were observed i patie ts above 55 years of age tha i you ger patie ts.Discussio : FAT is a eural pathway that ca be tracked based o various a atomical la dmarks. Cliically, it appears that deli eati g FAT betwee SFG a d the pars opercularis regio of IFG is optimal, as it is directly associated with the highest umber of fibers a d the greatest volume of the tract cotai ed betwee these poi ts.