Diffusion tensor imaging for in vivo detection of degenerated optic radiation.

Glaucomatous optic nerve atrophy may continue to the linked optic radiation by transneuronal degeneration, as described in animal models of glaucoma. In vivo visualization of the visual pathway represents a new challenge in the field of ophthalmology. We present a new approach for illustration of the optic radiation by diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) based on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The DTI was established by use of a 3T high-field scanner. The case of a patient with primary open-angle glaucoma is opposed to this one of a healthy subject to demonstrate the visible rarefication of the optic radiation. The goal was to introduce the technique of the DTI also in ophthalmology and to demonstrate that it may be useful to judge glaucoma-related differences.