Functional Assessment of Lumbar Nerve Roots Using Coronal-plane Single-shot Turbo Spin-echo Diffusion Tensor Imaging

We investigated the usefulness of diffusion tensor imaging using single-shot turbo spin-echo sequence (TSE–DTI) in detecting the responsible nerve root by multipoint measurements of fractional anisotropy (FA) values. Five patients with bilateral lumbar spinal stenosis showing unilateral neurological symptoms were examined using TSE–DTI. In the spinal canal, FA values in the symptomatic side were lower than those in the asymptomatic side. TSE–DTI using multipoint measurements of FA values can differentiate the responsible lumbar nerve root.