This research constructs a high-resolution cervical spinal cord template using anatomical and diffusion MRI, facilitating better segmentation and analysis.
Motivation: The current spinal cord templates contain only anatomical MRI contrasts and have relatively low resolution, such that fine morphology specific to each level appeared unclear. Goal(s): This study aims to construct a multi-contrast cervical spinal cord ex vivo template at 80 μm isotropic resolution of using anatomical and diffusion MRI data. Approach: The multi-contrast template was constructed using an optimised registration protocol using T1, b0, and FA images acquired at 9.4 T. Results: The new template displayed high anatomical delineation across the imaging contrasts, facilitating high-quality segmentation of cervical spinal cord grey and white matter structures. Impact: This high-resolution multi-contrast template can potentially improve anatomical and microstructural analysis disease-related changes. For example, besides measuring atrophies, clinicians could use the template to pin-point subtle changes in the GM motoneuron pool due to degeneration or injuries.
No takes yet. Share an insight, caveat, or question.
Hattan et al. (2025) studied this question.
Synapse has enriched 5 closely related papers on similar clinical questions. Consider them for comparative context: