Infants with perinatal hypoxic ischemia: feasibility of fiber tracking at birth and 3 months.

The purpose of this study was to retrospectively investigate the feasibility of fiber tracking at birth and 3 months in infants with hypoxic ischemia to detect disturbances in white matter development. This retrospective study did not require institutional review board approval. All parents gave informed consent. Diffusion-tensor magnetic resonance (MR) images were obtained in full-term newborns: seven with standard MR imaging findings and 10 with perinatal hypoxic ischemia-related abnormalities. Visualization of white matter tracts was investigated by using a volume-tracing and quantification technique. Fiber tracking was useful for studying the neonatal brain. Abnormalities resulted in fiber patterns that were different from the fiber patterns of normal brain tissue. The corona radiata fibers were frequently affected.