The subthalamic nucleus at 7.0 Tesla: evaluation of sequence and orientation for deep-brain stimulation

Background Deep-brain stimulation (DBS) of the subthalamic nucleus (STN) is an accepted neurosurgical technique for the treatment of medication-resistant Parkinson’s disease and other neurological disorders. The accurate targeting of the STN is facilitated by precise and reliable identification in pre-stereotactic magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The aim of the study was to compare and evaluate different promising MRI methods at 7.0 T for the pre-stereotactic visualisation of the STN