Longitudinal evaluation of MRgFUS lesion characteristics and retrospective identification of the final target location using dMRI

Motivation: Diffusion MRI (dMRI) can offer structural specificity with sensitivity in capturing quantitatively the changes in tissue due to damage or recovery. Goal(s): Use dMRI in a MRgFUS study to assess the lesion characteristics and pinpoint the location with highest tissue damage at the core of the lesion to transfer it to the presurgical dMRI scan. Approach: Measurements are performed, per timepoint, on the lesion identified with a three ring appearance from the ~27hour MD scan. Results: The dMRI metrics differentiated regions with edema and highest tissue damage in the lesion. Additionally, the core of the lesion was identified on the presurgical dMRI scan. Impact: The dMRI quantitative measurements in the MRgFUS lesion are able to differentiate between regions of highest tissue damage and edema. Clinicians can use these measurements to assess the location of final target placement and correlate with clinical outcome measures.