Validation of diffusion tensor MRI‐based muscle fiber tracking

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Abstract
Diffusion-tensor (DT) MRI fiber tracking may potentially be used for in vivo structural analysis. The purpose of this study was to assess quantitatively the ability of a DT-MRI fiber-tracking algorithm to measure the fiber orientation (pennation) in skeletal muscle in vivo. In five adult Sprague-Dawley rats, the pennation angle (θ) was measured in the rat lateral gastrocnemius with DT-MRI (θDT-MRI) and by direct anatomical inspection (DAI) (θDAI). The mean θDT-MRI was not significantly different from the mean θDAI. In addition, the two methods were highly correlated (r = 0.89) and the regression of θDT-MRI on θDAI resulted in a slope not significantly different from 1 and an intercept not significantly different from zero. These data indicate that DT-MRI-based fiber tracking as implemented here is a valid tool for in vivo structural analysis of small-animal skeletal muscle. Magn Reson Med 48:97–104, 2002.