NODDI-based identification of white matter tracts in regions of peritumoral edema: a validation study in brains bearing meningioma tumors.

White matter (WM) tract detection proximal to brain tumors, surrounded by vasogenic edema during tumor resection is critical. Previous work has shown that NODDI presents a more accurate quantification of WM in edema as compared to DTI. However, these studies included gliomas and metastases, which are known to infiltrate WM. Here, we focus on validating the use of the NODDI model for WM identification in edema only in non-invasive meningiomas. Our results showed that DTI-derived FA of WM near edematous regions were lower than contralateral WM in non-edematous regions; in contrast, NODDI-derived ODI values for the same regions remained comparable.