NEW MAGNETIC-RESONANCE-IMAGING TECHNIQUES FOR THE EVALUATION OF TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY

Although current computerized tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance i maging (MRI) techniques have shown great utility in diagnosing various aspects traumatic brain injury, damage resulting from mild diffuse br ain injury often goes undetected with these procedures. Newly develope d MRI techniques, including magnetization transfer imaging (MTI) and d iffusion-weighted imaging (DWI), have been proposed to have enhanced s ensitivities for identifying damage induced by both diffuse and focal brain injury, Results from recent initial studies with experimental mo dels of brain injury suggest that MTI may be useful for evaluating dif fuse white matter damage, while DWI may demonstrate regions of focal c ontusion more acutely and with greater accuracy than conventional MRI procedures.