Anatomically informed multi-level fiber tractography for targeted virtual dissection

OBJECTIVES: Diffusion-weighted MRI can assist preoperative planning by reconstructing the trajectory of eloquent fiber pathways, such as the corticospinal tract (CST). However, accurate reconstruction of the full extent of the CST remains challenging with existing tractography methods. We suggest a novel tractography algorithm exploiting unused fiber orientations to produce more complete and reliable results. METHODS: Our novel approach, referred to as multi-level fiber tractography (MLFT), reconstructs fiber pathways by progressively considering previously unused fiber orientations at multiple levels of tract propagation. Anatomical priors are used to minimize the number of false-positive pathways. The MLFT method was evaluated on synthetic data and in vivo data by reconstructing the CST while compared to conventional tractography approaches. RESULTS: The radial extent of MLFT reconstructions is comparable to that of probabilistic reconstruction: [Formula: see text] for the left and [Formula: see text] for the right hemisphere according to Wilcoxon test, while achieving significantly higher topography preservation compared to probabilistic tractography: [Formula: see text] . DISCUSSION: MLFT provides a novel way to reconstruct fiber pathways by adding the capability of including branching pathways in fiber tractography. Thanks to its robustness, feasible reconstruction extent and topography preservation, our approach may assist in clinical practice as well as in virtual dissection studies. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10334-022-01033-3.