Surgical Accuracy of 3-Tesla Versus 7-Tesla Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Deep Brain Stimulation for Parkinson Disease

BACKGROUND: In deep brain stimulation (DBS), accurate placement of the lead is critical. Target definition is highly dependent on visual recognition on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). We prospectively investigated whether the 7T MRI enabled better visualization of targets and led to better placement of leads compared with the 1.5-T and the 3-T MRI. METHODS: Three patients with PD (mean, 55 years) were scanned on 1.5-, 3-, and 7-T MRI before surgery. Tissue contrast and signal-to-noise ratio were measured. Target coordinates were noted on MRI and during surgery. Differences were analyzed with post-hoc analysis of variance. RESULTS: The 7-T MRI demonstrated a significant improvement in tissue visualization (P < 0.005) and signal-tonoise ratio (P < 0.005). However, no difference in the target coordinates was found between the 7-T and the 3-T MRI. CONCLUSIONS: Although the 7-T MRI enables a significant better visualization of the DBS target in patients with PD, we found no clinical benefit for the placement of the DBS leads.