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Lévy S, Guertin MC, Khatibi A, Mezer A, Martinu K, Chen JI, Stikov N, Rainville P, Cohen-Adad J. Test-retest reliability of myelin imaging in the human spinal cord: Measurement errors versus region- and aging-induced variations. PLoS One 2018; 13:e0189944. [PMID: 29293550 PMCID: PMC5749716 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0189944] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/18/2017] [Accepted: 12/05/2017] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Abstract
PURPOSE To implement a statistical framework for assessing the precision of several quantitative MRI metrics sensitive to myelin in the human spinal cord: T1, Magnetization Transfer Ratio (MTR), saturation imposed by an off-resonance pulse (MTsat) and Macromolecular Tissue Volume (MTV). METHODS Thirty-three healthy subjects within two age groups (young, elderly) were scanned at 3T. Among them, 16 underwent the protocol twice to assess repeatability. Statistical reliability indexes such as the Minimal Detectable Change (MDC) were compared across metrics quantified within different cervical levels and white matter (WM) sub-regions. The differences between pathways and age groups were quantified and interpreted in context of the test-retest repeatability of the measurements. RESULTS The MDC was respectively 105.7ms, 2.77%, 0.37% and 4.08% for T1, MTR, MTsat and MTV when quantified over all WM, while the standard-deviation across subjects was 70.5ms, 1.34%, 0.20% and 2.44%. Even though particular WM regions did exhibit significant differences, these differences were on the same order as test-retest errors. No significant difference was found between age groups for all metrics. CONCLUSION While T1-based metrics (T1 and MTV) exhibited better reliability than MT-based measurements (MTR and MTsat), the observed differences between subjects or WM regions were comparable to (and often smaller than) the MDC. This makes it difficult to determine if observed changes are due to variations in myelin content, or simply due to measurement error. Measurement error remains a challenge in spinal cord myelin imaging, but this study provides statistical guidelines to standardize the field and make it possible to conduct large-scale multi-center studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simon Lévy
- NeuroPoly Lab, Institute of Biomedical Engineering, Polytechnique Montreal, Montreal, QC, Canada
- Centre de Recherche de l'Institut Universitaire de Gériatrie de Montréal (CRIUGM), Montréal, QC, Canada
| | - Marie-Claude Guertin
- Montreal Health Innovations Coordinating Center (MHICC), Montreal Heart Institute, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Ali Khatibi
- Centre de Recherche de l'Institut Universitaire de Gériatrie de Montréal (CRIUGM), Montréal, QC, Canada
- Psychology Department, Bilkent University, Ankara, Turkey
- Interdisciplinary program in Neuroscience, Bilkent University, Ankara, Turkey
- National Magnetic Resonance Research Center (UMRAM), Bilkent University, Ankara, Turkey
| | - Aviv Mezer
- The Edmond and Lily Safra Center for Brain Sciences (ELSC), The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Kristina Martinu
- Centre de Recherche de l'Institut Universitaire de Gériatrie de Montréal (CRIUGM), Montréal, QC, Canada
| | - Jen-I Chen
- Centre de Recherche de l'Institut Universitaire de Gériatrie de Montréal (CRIUGM), Montréal, QC, Canada
- Department of Stomatology, Faculty of Dentistry, Université de Montréal, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Nikola Stikov
- NeuroPoly Lab, Institute of Biomedical Engineering, Polytechnique Montreal, Montreal, QC, Canada
- Montreal Heart Institute, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Pierre Rainville
- Centre de Recherche de l'Institut Universitaire de Gériatrie de Montréal (CRIUGM), Montréal, QC, Canada
- Department of Stomatology, Faculty of Dentistry, Université de Montréal, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Julien Cohen-Adad
- NeuroPoly Lab, Institute of Biomedical Engineering, Polytechnique Montreal, Montreal, QC, Canada
- Functional Neuroimaging Unit, CRIUGM, Université de Montréal, Montreal, QC, Canada
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Ren H, Lin W, Ding X. Surface Coil Intensity Correction in Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Spinal Metastases. Open Med (Wars) 2017; 12:138-143. [PMID: 28730173 PMCID: PMC5471916 DOI: 10.1515/med-2017-0021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2017] [Accepted: 03/24/2017] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Objective To evaluate the clinical application of phased-array surface coil intensity correction in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in spinal metastases. Methods 3 phantoms and 50 patients with a corresponding total number of 80 spinal metastases were included in this study. Fast spin echo T1- and T2- weighted MRI with and without surface coil intensity correction was routinely performed for all phantoms and patients. Phantoms were evaluated by means of variance to mean ratio of signal intensity on both T1- and T2- weighted MRI obtained with and without surface coil intensity correction. Spinal metastases were evaluated by image quality scores; reading time per case on both T1- and T2- weighted MRI obtained with and without surface coil intensity correction. Results Spinal metastases were diagnosed more successfully on MRI with surface coil intensity correction than on MRI with conventional surface coil technique. The variance to mean ratio of signal intensity was 53.36% for original T1-weighted MRI and 53.58% for original T2-weighted MRI. The variance to mean ratio of signal intensity was reduced to 18.99% for T1-weighted MRI with surface coil intensity correction and 22.77% for T2-weighted MRI with surface coil intensity correction. The overall image quality scores (interface conspicuity of lesion and details of lesion) were significantly higher than those of the original MRI. The reading time per case was shorter for MRI with surface coil intensity correction than for MRI without surface coil intensity correction. Conclusions Phased-array surface coil intensity correction in MRIs of spinal metastases provides improvements in image quality that leads to more successfully detection and assessment of spinal metastases than original MRI.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hong Ren
- Department of Radiology, Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310000, China
| | - Wei Lin
- Department of Radiology, Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310000, China
| | - Xianjun Ding
- Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310016, China
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Mezer A, Rokem A, Berman S, Hastie T, Wandell BA. Evaluating quantitative proton-density-mapping methods. Hum Brain Mapp 2016; 37:3623-35. [PMID: 27273015 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.23264] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/24/2015] [Revised: 04/30/2016] [Accepted: 05/10/2016] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Quantitative magnetic resonance imaging (qMRI) aims to quantify tissue parameters by eliminating instrumental bias. We describe qMRI theory, simulations, and software designed to estimate proton density (PD), the apparent local concentration of water protons in the living human brain. First, we show that, in the absence of noise, multichannel coil data contain enough information to separate PD and coil sensitivity, a limiting instrumental bias. Second, we show that, in the presence of noise, regularization by a constraint on the relationship between T1 and PD produces accurate coil sensitivity and PD maps. The ability to measure PD quantitatively has applications in the analysis of in-vivo human brain tissue and enables multisite comparisons between individuals and across instruments. Hum Brain Mapp 37:3623-3635, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aviv Mezer
- The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Edmond and Lily Safra Center for Brain Sciences, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Ariel Rokem
- The University of Washington, eScience Institute, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Shai Berman
- The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Edmond and Lily Safra Center for Brain Sciences, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Trevor Hastie
- Stanford University, Department of Psychology, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Brian A Wandell
- Stanford University, Department of Psychology, Stanford, CA, USA.,Stanford University, Center for Cognitive and Neurobiological Imaging, Stanford, CA, USA
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Quantifying the local tissue volume and composition in individual brains with magnetic resonance imaging. Nat Med 2013; 19:1667-72. [PMID: 24185694 PMCID: PMC3855886 DOI: 10.1038/nm.3390] [Citation(s) in RCA: 196] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2012] [Accepted: 02/05/2013] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
We describe a quantitative neuroimaging method to estimate the macromolecular tissue volume (MTV), a fundamental measure of brain anatomy. By making measurements over a range of field strengths and scan parameters, we tested the key assumptions and the robustness of the method. The measurements confirm that a consistent, quantitative estimate of macromolecular volume can be obtained across a range of scanners. MTV estimates are sufficiently precise to enable a comparison between data obtained from an individual subject with control population data. We describe two applications. First, we show that MTV estimates can be combined with T1 and diffusion measurements to augment our understanding of the tissue properties. Second we show that MTV provides a sensitive measure of disease status in individual patients with multiple sclerosis. The MTV maps are obtained using short clinically appropriate scans that can reveal how tissue changes influence behavior and cognition.
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Gai ND, Butman JA. Fast T1 mapping determined using incomplete inversion recovery look-locker 3D balanced SSFP acquisition and a simple two-parameter model fit. J Magn Reson Imaging 2012; 35:1437-44. [PMID: 22282318 DOI: 10.1002/jmri.23576] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2011] [Accepted: 12/07/2011] [Indexed: 11/07/2022] Open
Abstract
PURPOSE To evaluate a fast T1 mapping technique using incomplete inversion recovery 3D balanced steady-state free precession acquisition along with a two-parameter model fit. MATERIALS AND METHODS Using Bloch simulations, we explored the two-parameter model fit for data acquired using such an acquisition scheme. The parameter space over which the fit holds good was determined through simulations. A linear correction was derived for the R1* (1/T1*) values so determined. Two phantoms and six volunteers were scanned using the described technique. Comparison scans using full recovery as well as gold standard inversion recovery spin echo were also performed. RESULTS The two-parameter fit works exceedingly well over a large parameter space. T1 values in the phantoms showed an error of 4.9% and 39% before correction and 0.9% and 1.6% after correction. For the six volunteers, error in T1 value was 5.3% for white matter (WM) and 2.4% for gray matter (GM) after correction, while it was 11.2% and 18.2% before correction. CONCLUSION The work presented here allows for T1 map determination with higher resolution and shorter acquisition time than previously possible. The technique is especially well suited for GM/WM T1 mapping.
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Affiliation(s)
- Neville D Gai
- Radiology and Imaging Sciences, Clinical Center, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892, USA.
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Auer T, Schweizer R, Frahm J. An iterative two-threshold analysis for single-subject functional MRI of the human brain. Eur Radiol 2011; 21:2369-87. [PMID: 21710268 DOI: 10.1007/s00330-011-2184-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2011] [Revised: 05/03/2011] [Accepted: 05/05/2011] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Current thresholding strategies for the analysis of functional MRI (fMRI) datasets may suffer from specific limitations (e.g. with respect to the required smoothness) or lead to reduced performance for a low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). Although a previously proposed two-threshold (TT) method offers a promising solution to these problems, the use of preset settings limits its performance. This work presents an optimised TT approach that estimates the required parameters in an iterative manner. METHODS The iterative TT (iTT) method is compared with the original TT method, as well as other established voxel-based and cluster-based thresholding approaches and spatial mixture modelling (SMM) for both simulated data and fMRI of a hometown walking task at different experimental settings (spatial resolution, filtering and SNR). RESULTS In general, the iTT method presents with remarkable sensitivity and good specificity that outperforms all conventional approaches tested except for SMM in a few cases. This also holds true for challenging conditions such as high spatial resolution, the absence of filtering, high noise level, or a low number of task repetitions. CONCLUSION Thus, iTT emerges as a good candidate for both scientific fMRI studies at high spatial resolution and more routine applications for clinical purposes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tibor Auer
- Biomedizinische NMR Forschungs GmbH am Max-Planck-Institut für biophysikalische Chemie, Am Fassberg 11, 37070 Göttingen, Germany.
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