Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Detected

Mild Traumatic Brain Injury (mTBI) can be detected using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) which is an application of MRI that is sensitive

to the direction of the movement of water molecules through tissue.In the intact brain, the primary direction of movement is parallel to axonal bundles, which is caled anisotropy.But when these axons are damaged, the movement becomes less aligned with the bundles.If there is a change in the direction of diffusion of water due to microscopic damage , it is reflected in a decrease in anisotropy.This finding may allow the diagnose of patients with mTBI in whom routine MRI scans are often normal.

Radiology 2009;252 (3) :816-824