Table 1.

The detection methods of white matter injury.

Detection method	Advantage	Disadvantage	Detection mode
Diffusion tensor magnetic resonance imaging	(1) Assessing longitudinal change in white matter fibers (2) Selectively visualizing the white matter fibers (3) Early detection of the white matter injury	(1) Expensive (2) Requires higher hardware and software	Direct
T1- and T2-weighted spin-echo sequences magnetic resonance imaging	(1) Wider application (2) Roughly assessing the damage situation of white matter	(1) Expensive (2) Unable to early detect the white matter injury (3) Unable to clearly visualize the white matter fibers	Direct
Computed tomographic scan	(1) Inexpensive (2) Wider application (3) Roughly assessing the damage situation of white matter	(1) Unable to early detect the white matter injury (2) Unable to clearly visualize the white matter fibers	Direct
Laser Doppler	(1) Inexpensive (2) Quickly and accurately detecting the blood flow changes of white matter	(1) Unable to directly detect the white matter injury (2) Invasive examination	Indirect
Pathological examination	(1) Cheap (2) Has a variety of detection means (3) Quickly and accurately finding the change in white matter fibers	Invasive examination	Direct
Radioactive microsphere technique	Quickly and accurately detecting the blood flow changes of white matter	More difficult to apply in clinic	Indirect
Poststroke activities of daily living (ADL)	(1) Easy to use and cheap (2) Quickly detecting white matter injury	Only indirectly and roughly judged white matter injury	Indirect
Informant Questionnaire on Cognitive Decline in the Elderly (IQCODE)	(1) Easy to use and cheap (2) Quickly detecting white matter injury	Only indirectly and roughly judged white matter injury	Indirect
Modified Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status test	(1) Easy to use and cheap (2) Quickly detecting white matter injury	Only indirectly and roughly judged white matter injury	Indirect