Dataset Information

MRI-derived measurements of human subcortical, ventricular and intracranial brain volumes: Reliability effects of scan sessions, acquisition sequences, data analyses, scanner upgrade, scanner vendors and field strengths.

ABSTRACT: Automated MRI-derived measurements of in-vivo human brain volumes provide novel insights into normal and abnormal neuroanatomy, but little is known about measurement reliability. Here we assess the impact of image acquisition variables (scan session, MRI sequence, scanner upgrade, vendor and field strengths), FreeSurfer segmentation pre-processing variables (image averaging, B1 field inhomogeneity correction) and segmentation analysis variables (probabilistic atlas) on resultant image segmentation volumes from older (n=15, mean age 69.5) and younger (both n=5, mean ages 34 and 36.5) healthy subjects. The variability between hippocampal, thalamic, caudate, putamen, lateral ventricular and total intracranial volume measures across sessions on the same scanner on different days is less than 4.3% for the older group and less than 2.3% for the younger group. Within-scanner measurements are remarkably reliable across scan sessions, being minimally affected by averaging of multiple acquisitions, B1 correction, acquisition sequence (MPRAGE vs. multi-echo-FLASH), major scanner upgrades (Sonata-Avanto, Trio-TrioTIM), and segmentation atlas (MPRAGE or multi-echo-FLASH). Volume measurements across platforms (Siemens Sonata vs. GE Signa) and field strengths (1.5 T vs. 3 T) result in a volume difference bias but with a comparable variance as that measured within-scanner, implying that multi-site studies may not necessarily require a much larger sample to detect a specific effect. These results suggest that volumes derived from automated segmentation of T1-weighted structural images are reliable measures within the same scanner platform, even after upgrades; however, combining data across platform and across field-strength introduces a bias that should be considered in the design of multi-site studies, such as clinical drug trials. The results derived from the young groups (scanner upgrade effects and B1 inhomogeneity correction effects) should be considered as preliminary and in need for further validation with a larger dataset.

SUBMITTER: Jovicich J

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2866077 | biostudies-literature | 2009 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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MRI-derived measurements of human subcortical, ventricular and intracranial brain volumes: Reliability effects of scan sessions, acquisition sequences, data analyses, scanner upgrade, scanner vendors and field strengths.

Jovicich Jorge J Czanner Silvester S Han Xiao X Salat David D van der Kouwe Andre A Quinn Brian B Pacheco Jenni J Albert Marilyn M Killiany Ronald R Blacker Deborah D Maguire Paul P Rosas Diana D Makris Nikos N Gollub Randy R Dale Anders A Dickerson Bradford C BC Fischl Bruce B

NeuroImage 20090220 1

Automated MRI-derived measurements of in-vivo human brain volumes provide novel insights into normal and abnormal neuroanatomy, but little is known about measurement reliability. Here we assess the impact of image acquisition variables (scan session, MRI sequence, scanner upgrade, vendor and field strengths), FreeSurfer segmentation pre-processing variables (image averaging, B1 field inhomogeneity correction) and segmentation analysis variables (probabilistic atlas) on resultant image segmentati ...[more]

PMID: 19233293

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Project description:PurposeIn an increasingly aging society, it is of great importance to consider trajectories of subcortical volumes at different ages for understanding biological markers of aging. Thus, we investigated sex, age, and their interactions on subcortical volumes, including the basal ganglia (caudate, putamen, accumbens, and pallidum), thalamus, hippocampus, and amygdala.MethodsWe analyzed the adult lifespan trajectory of subcortical volumes and asymmetries in 563 healthy subjects aged from 19 to 86 using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data from the publicly available 7IXI data set.ResultsThe sex made strong contributions to the trajectories of subcortical volumes with aging, including the right putamen, right pallidum, bilateral thalamus, hippocampus, and amygdala. The volume of the right putamen, right pallidum, and right thalamus decreased more rapidly in males than in females, and the volume of the left thalamus, bilateral hippocampus, and amygdala in males followed a quadratic model, while those in females followed a linear decline model. The asymmetries in the caudate and hippocampus showed a linear decline, and a sex and age interaction was found in the hippocampus; that is, the asymmetry in the hippocampus decreased only in the males and not in the females. Changes in the accumbens and pallidum fit quadratic trajectories, in which females increased until 39.26 years old in the accumbens asymmetry and then began to rapidly decline, and males showed a linear decline. The asymmetry in the pallidum in males and females showed a slow decreasing period until almost 45 years of age and then increased.ConclusionThe results suggest that compared with females, males have a faster decline in the volume of the right putamen, right pallidum, and right thalamus, while aging occurred later but also faster in the left thalamus, bilateral hippocampus, and amygdala. Interestingly, we found the inflection point in the thalamus, bilateral hippocampus, and amygdala volume in the quadratic model, and after this point, the volume change accelerated with aging, which may have resulted from the stronger work pressure in the middle-aged men and the low levels of testosterone in the older adults. The interaction of age and sex on individual subcortical structures provides evidence to support the impact of sex on psychopathologies associated with degenerative brain disorders in the elderly. The findings may be significant to investigate the occurrence and prevalence of degenerative brain disorders in males and females. Future studies can focus on the functional and behavioral relations with subcortical structures for preventive measures of related disorders.

Project description:BackgroundPrevious quantitative synthetic MRI of the brain has been solely performed in 2D.PurposeTo evaluate the feasibility of the recently developed sequence 3D-QALAS for brain cortical thickness and volumetric analysis.Study typeReproducibility/repeatability study.SubjectsTwenty-one healthy volunteers (35.6 ± 13.8 years).Field strength/sequence3D T1 -weighted fast spoiled gradient recalled echo (FSPGR) sequence was performed once, and 3D-QALAS sequence was performed twice with a 3T scanner.AssessmentFreeSurfer and FIRST were used to measure cortical thickness and volume of subcortical structures, respectively. Agreement with FSPGR and scan-rescan repeatability were evaluated for 3D-QALAS.Statistical testsPercent relative difference and intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) were used to assess reproducibility and scan-rescan repeatability of the 3D-QALAS sequence-derived measurements.ResultsPercent relative difference compared with FSPGR in cortical thickness of the whole cortex was 3.1%, and 89% of the regional areas showed less than 10% relative difference in cortical thickness. The mean ICC across all regions was 0.65, and 74% of the structures showed substantial to almost perfect agreement. For volumes of subcortical structures, the median percent relative differences were lower than 10% across all subcortical structures, except for the accumbens area, and all structures showed ICCs of substantial to almost perfect agreement. For the scan-rescan test, percent relative difference in cortical thickness of the whole cortex was 2.3%, and 97% of the regional areas showed less than 10% relative difference in cortical thickness. The mean ICC across all regions was 0.73, and 80% showed substantial to almost perfect agreement. For volumes of subcortical structures, relative differences were less than 10% across all subcortical structures except for the accumbens area, and all structures showed ICCs of substantial to almost perfect agreement.Data conclusion3D-QALAS could be reliably used for measuring cortical thickness and subcortical volumes in most brain regions.Level of evidence3 Technical Efficacy: Stage 1 J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2019;50:1834-1842.

Dataset Information

MRI-derived measurements of human subcortical, ventricular and intracranial brain volumes: Reliability effects of scan sessions, acquisition sequences, data analyses, scanner upgrade, scanner vendors and field strengths.

Publications

MRI-derived measurements of human subcortical, ventricular and intracranial brain volumes: Reliability effects of scan sessions, acquisition sequences, data analyses, scanner upgrade, scanner vendors and field strengths.

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