Purpose

The purpose of this study was to assess the diagnostic accuracy of T1-weighted and T2-weighted contrasts generated by the MR data postprocessing software SyMRI (Synthetic MR AB, Linköping, Sweden) for neonatal brain imaging.

Methods

In this study 36 cases of neonatal MRI were retrospectively collected, which included T1-weighted and T2-weighted sequences as well as multi-dynamic multi-echo (MDME) sequences. Of the 36 neonates 32 were included in this study and 4 neuroradiologists independently assessed neonatal brain examinations on the basis of conventional and SyMRI-generated T1-weighted and T2-weighted contrasts, in order to determine the presence or absence of lesions. The sensitivity and specificity of both methods were calculated and compared.

Results

Compared to conventionally acquired T1 and T2-weighted images, SyMRI-generated contrasts showed a lower sensitivity but a higher specificity (SyMRI sensitivity 0.88, confidence interval (CI): 0.72–0.95; specificity 1, CI: 0.89–1/conventional MRI: sensitivity: 0.94, CI: 0.80–0.98; specificity: 0.94, CI: 0.80–0.98).

Conclusion

The T1-weighted and T2-weighted images generated by SyMRI showed a diagnostic accuracy comparable to that of conventionally acquired contrasts. In addition to semiquantitative imaging data, SyMRI provides diagnostic images and leads to a more efficient use of available imaging time in neonatal brain MRI.

中文翻译：

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SyMRI 对新生儿大脑评估的有效性

目的

本研究的目的是评估由 MR 数据后处理软件 SyMRI（Synthetic MR AB，Linköping，Sweden）生成的 T1 加权和 T2 加权对比对新生儿脑成像的诊断准确性。

方法

本研究回顾性收集了 36 例新生儿 MRI，其中包括 T1 加权和 T2 加权序列以及多动态多回波 (MDME) 序列。在 36 名新生儿中，有 32 名被纳入本研究，4 名神经放射科医生根据常规和 SyMRI 生成的 T1 加权和 T2 加权对比独立评估新生儿脑部检查，以确定是否存在病变。计算并比较了两种方法的灵敏度和特异性。

结果

与常规获得的 T1 和 T2 加权图像相比，SyMRI 生成的对比显示出较低的敏感性，但具有较高的特异性（SyMRI 敏感性 0.88，置信区间 (CI)：0.72-0.95；特异性 1，CI：0.89-1/常规 MRI：敏感性：0.94，CI：0.80–0.98；特异性：0.94，CI：0.80–0.98）。

结论

SyMRI 生成的 T1 加权和 T2 加权图像显示出与常规获得的对比度相当的诊断准确性。除了半定量成像数据外，SyMRI 还提供诊断图像，并可以更有效地利用新生儿脑部 MRI 的可用成像时间。