For details on HDFT in autism please check project description and FAQ.
Connection disorders are disorders of the brain white matter – the tracts or bundles of axons that connect the different parts of the brain enabling brain information preprocessing. These are the long distance cables or tracts of the brain. High Definition Fiber Tracking (HDFT) measures the axonal volume and path of the tracts by quantifying the water inside the axons by measuring the hindered diffusion of water in the tubular axons that make long distance connections in the brain. The concept is to map the brain cables much like how X-rays map the bones of the body. This is done on high end 3T MRI machines. We apply the technology for basic research of brain structure (what parts of the brain connect) and clinical diagnosis of trauma (Traumatic Brain Injury -TBI), pathology (brain tumorsin neurosurgery), neurodevelopment disorders (autism), and neurodegeneration (Altzheimer’s). We anticipate clinical connection imaging technology will in the future help in the diagnosis and treatment in conditions afflicting over ten million in the US annually.
3 Autism Speaks http://www.autismspeaks.org/about-us/press-releases/annual-cost-of-autis... 1 in 88 children
4 Alzheimer’s Association (AA) estimates 2011 annual report