ABSTRACT
Objective To investigate an approach for locating the operation target of deep brain stimulation (DBS) (subthalamic nucleus,STN) based on the center of the red nucleus (RN).Methods Sixteen adults,including 8 with Parkinson' s disease (PD) and 8 from healthy volunteers,collected in our hospital from September 2012 to September 2013,were chosen; transverse T2-weighted MRI (3.0T) was performed.On the layer of the RN's maximum diameter,a right triangle was formed by three lines:the first one (marked as line AB) was the acknowledged 12 mm line,the second one (marked as line AC) was connected by the operation target and the RN center,and the third one (marked as line BC) was connected by the anterior commissure (AC) and posterior commissure (PC).The angle (marked as α) formed by the AC-PC plane and line AC and the length of the line BC (marked as b) were measured and analyzed.Results The average length of the RN diameter in 16 adults was (0.93±0.05) cm in the left cerebral hemisphere and (0.92±0.03) cm in the right.The length of line b was (0.81 ±0.09) cm in the left and (0.82±0.06) cm in the right.The angle α was (56.76±2.87)° in the left and (55.98±2.30)° in the right.The RN diameter,length of line b and angle α in patients from PD group showed no significant differences as compared with those in the normal controls (P＞0.05).Conclusion The RN center can be used for indirectly locating STN before DBS for PD treatment.