Differential tractography pipelines study in asymptomatic individuals with cerebral small vessel disease
Introduction: Cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD) is frequently discovered as an asymptomatic (‘silent’) finding during magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) brain scanning. Diffusion-based MRI, such as diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), is an emerging neuroimaging technique to detect and evaluate the C...
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2022
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| Online Access: | http://eprints.usm.my/57127/ http://eprints.usm.my/57127/1/AMANINA%20AHMAD%20SAFRIl-24%20pages.pdf |
| _version_ | 1848883539402031104 |
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| author | Safri, Amanina Ahmad |
| author_facet | Safri, Amanina Ahmad |
| author_sort | Safri, Amanina Ahmad |
| building | USM Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Introduction: Cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD) is frequently discovered as an
asymptomatic (‘silent’) finding during magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) brain scanning.
Diffusion-based MRI, such as diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), is an emerging neuroimaging
technique to detect and evaluate the CSVD manifestations, such as white matter hyperintensities
(WMHs). DTI has been used progressively, but there is no gold standard for optimising the DTI
pipeline processing, especially in the CSVD study. Therefore, to make the best use of DTI,
several technical and methodological considerations must be made.
Objective: The goal of this study is to establish a series of DTI pipeline processing
either in a single or a combination of multiple well-established software packages in order to
study their compatibility, reproducibility, and reliability in the assessment of white matter
ischaemic integrity in asymptomatic CSVD.
Methods: Sixty (n = 60) asymptomatic people (mean age, 39.82 years old ± 11.32) were
recruited and had their brains scanned with a 3T MRI scanner. Twenty (n = 20) of the
participants had WMHs. Four pipeline processing were established: P1(MedINRIA), P2 (DSI
Studio), P3 (DTI Toolkit and TrackVis), and P4 (3Dslicer).
Results: Each established DTI pipeline processing profile and user interface
differences were discussed, including the programming language used, estimated total
processing times, and their strengths and weaknesses. The comparison between each of the DTI
pipelines processing was determined to be P2 as the best among the other pipelines processing
used in this study based on the highest relative score of user interface differences. P2 also has a
good reliability score (α = 0.86).
Conclusion: This study established the compatibility, reproducibility, and reliability of
established DTI pipelines in the assessment of white matter ischemic integrity in apparently
asymptomatic CSVD. It provides a comprehensive analysis that can improve and standardise
the identification of WMHs and allow for a more robust white matter integrity assessment. Our
findings show that the acceptable reliability score in the established DTI pipelined processing
is P2 (DSI Studio), which can serve as an ideal pipeline processing to assess white matter
tractography in CSVD. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-15T18:52:25Z |
| format | Thesis |
| id | usm-57127 |
| institution | Universiti Sains Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-15T18:52:25Z |
| publishDate | 2022 |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | usm-571272023-03-01T08:41:59Z http://eprints.usm.my/57127/ Differential tractography pipelines study in asymptomatic individuals with cerebral small vessel disease Safri, Amanina Ahmad R Medicine RC Internal medicine Introduction: Cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD) is frequently discovered as an asymptomatic (‘silent’) finding during magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) brain scanning. Diffusion-based MRI, such as diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), is an emerging neuroimaging technique to detect and evaluate the CSVD manifestations, such as white matter hyperintensities (WMHs). DTI has been used progressively, but there is no gold standard for optimising the DTI pipeline processing, especially in the CSVD study. Therefore, to make the best use of DTI, several technical and methodological considerations must be made. Objective: The goal of this study is to establish a series of DTI pipeline processing either in a single or a combination of multiple well-established software packages in order to study their compatibility, reproducibility, and reliability in the assessment of white matter ischaemic integrity in asymptomatic CSVD. Methods: Sixty (n = 60) asymptomatic people (mean age, 39.82 years old ± 11.32) were recruited and had their brains scanned with a 3T MRI scanner. Twenty (n = 20) of the participants had WMHs. Four pipeline processing were established: P1(MedINRIA), P2 (DSI Studio), P3 (DTI Toolkit and TrackVis), and P4 (3Dslicer). Results: Each established DTI pipeline processing profile and user interface differences were discussed, including the programming language used, estimated total processing times, and their strengths and weaknesses. The comparison between each of the DTI pipelines processing was determined to be P2 as the best among the other pipelines processing used in this study based on the highest relative score of user interface differences. P2 also has a good reliability score (α = 0.86). Conclusion: This study established the compatibility, reproducibility, and reliability of established DTI pipelines in the assessment of white matter ischemic integrity in apparently asymptomatic CSVD. It provides a comprehensive analysis that can improve and standardise the identification of WMHs and allow for a more robust white matter integrity assessment. Our findings show that the acceptable reliability score in the established DTI pipelined processing is P2 (DSI Studio), which can serve as an ideal pipeline processing to assess white matter tractography in CSVD. 2022-02 Thesis NonPeerReviewed application/pdf en http://eprints.usm.my/57127/1/AMANINA%20AHMAD%20SAFRIl-24%20pages.pdf Safri, Amanina Ahmad (2022) Differential tractography pipelines study in asymptomatic individuals with cerebral small vessel disease. PhD thesis, Universiti Sains Malaysia. |
| spellingShingle | R Medicine RC Internal medicine Safri, Amanina Ahmad Differential tractography pipelines study in asymptomatic individuals with cerebral small vessel disease |
| title | Differential tractography pipelines study in asymptomatic individuals with cerebral small vessel disease |
| title_full | Differential tractography pipelines study in asymptomatic individuals with cerebral small vessel disease |
| title_fullStr | Differential tractography pipelines study in asymptomatic individuals with cerebral small vessel disease |
| title_full_unstemmed | Differential tractography pipelines study in asymptomatic individuals with cerebral small vessel disease |
| title_short | Differential tractography pipelines study in asymptomatic individuals with cerebral small vessel disease |
| title_sort | differential tractography pipelines study in asymptomatic individuals with cerebral small vessel disease |
| topic | R Medicine RC Internal medicine |
| url | http://eprints.usm.my/57127/ http://eprints.usm.my/57127/1/AMANINA%20AHMAD%20SAFRIl-24%20pages.pdf |