Objective

For clinical purposes and research projects in neurological disease, it is of interest to evaluate the performance and comparability of available sequences and software packages for brain volume assessment to determine whether they provide equivalent results. This study compares cross-sectional brain volume values derived from images obtained with MP-RAGE or MP2RAGE sequences, using SIENA/X, SPM, or MorphoBox.

Materials and methods

MP-RAGE and MP2RAGE T1-weighted images were obtained from 24 healthy volunteers. Back-to-back scans were performed in 12 of them. Brain volumes, coefficients of variation, and concordance coefficients were determined.

Results

Significant differences were found for most brain volumes derived from MP-RAGE and MP2RAGE images. MP2RAGE-derived measures showed a non-significant trend to larger coefficients of variation. There were statistical differences between brain volumes determined with the three software packages, whereas coefficients of variation were comparable for most brain volumes. Correlation and concordance values were lower for CSF and brain parenchyma fraction measures.

Conclusion

The results obtained advise caution when comparing brain volumes obtained by different sequences and software packages. Of note, for most brain volume measures, the MP2RAGE and MorphoBox coefficients of variation were similar to those obtained with MP-RAGE, SIENA/X or SPM, accepted tools for clinical research.

中文翻译：

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评估从 MP-RAGE 和 MP2RAGE 图像获得的脑容量，使用不同的分割方法进行量化。

客观的

对于神经系统疾病的临床目的和研究项目，评估脑容量评估可用序列和软件包的性能和可比性以确定它们是否提供等效结果是有意义的。本研究比较了使用 SIENA/X、SPM 或 MorphoBox 由 MP-RAGE 或 MP2RAGE 序列获得的图像得出的横截面脑体积值。

材料和方法

MP-RAGE 和 MP2RAGE T1 加权图像来自 24 名健康志愿者。其中 12 次进行了背靠背扫描。确定了脑容量、变异系数和一致性系数。

结果

大多数来自 MP-RAGE 和 MP2RAGE 图像的脑容量存在显着差异。MP2RAGE 衍生的测量显示出较大变异系数的非显着趋势。使用三个软件包确定的脑容量之间存在统计差异，而大多数脑容量的变异系数具有可比性。CSF 和脑实质分数测量的相关性和一致性值较低。

结论

获得的结果建议在比较不同序列和软件包获得的脑容量时要谨慎。值得注意的是，对于大多数脑容量测量，MP2RAGE 和 MorphoBox 的变异系数与使用 MP-RAGE、SIENA/X 或 SPM 获得的系数相似，这些系数是公认的临床研究工具。