Neuroimaging and Its Application in the Diagnosis and Early Prognostication of TBI

Abstract

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a substantial public health problem. Differences in the progress of recovery make it a heterogeneous injury and limit effective diagnostic tools that depend on patients’ clinical manifestation. Neuroimaging methods have been widely applied in published reports, especially advanced neuroimaging techniques such as diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). fMRI is a widely used diagnostic imaging method for task-related dysfunction after TBI and in the assessment of cognitive. It can measure the fluctuations that exist in human brains during either active task states or a resting state. DTI, a relatively new MRI technique that is sensitive to microstructural abnormalities shows great advantages on visualizing axonal injury and major pathology in white matter tracts following TBI. It can be a significant early indicator for TBI, providing prognostics for later injury.