| 1. |
- Ambarki, Khalid, et al.
(författare)
-
Evaluation of Automatic Measurement of the Intracranial Volume Based on Quantitative MR Imaging
- 2012
-
Ingår i: American Journal of Neuroradiology. - : American Society of Neuroradiology. - 0195-6108 .- 1936-959X. ; 33:10, s. 1951-1956
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Brain size is commonly described in relation to ICV, whereby accurate assessment of this quantity is fundamental. Recently, an optimized MR sequence (QRAPMASTER) was developed for simultaneous quantification of T1, T2, and proton density. ICV can be measured automatically within minutes from QRAPMASTER outputs and a dedicated software, SyMRI. Automatic estimations of ICV were evaluated against the manual segmentation. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In 19 healthy subjects, manual segmentation of ICV was performed by 2 neuroradiologists (Obs1, Obs2) by using QBrain software and conventional T2-weighted images. The automatic segmentation from the QRAPMASTER output was performed by using SyMRI. Manual corrections of the automatic segmentation were performed (corrected-automatic) by Obs1 and Obs2, who were blinded from each other. Finally, the repeatability of the automatic method was evaluated in 6 additional healthy subjects, each having 6 repeated QRAPMASTER scans. The time required to measure ICV was recorded. RESULTS: No significant difference was found between reference and automatic (and corrected-automatic) ICV (P greater than .25). The mean difference between the reference and automatic measurement was -4.84 +/- 19.57 mL (or 0.31 +/- 1.35%). Mean differences between the reference and the corrected-automatic measurements were -0.47 +/- 17.95 mL (-0.01 +/- 1.24%) and -1.26 +/- 17.68 mL (-0.06 +/- 1.22%) for Obs1 and Obs2, respectively. The repeatability errors of the automatic and the corrected-automatic method were less than1%. The automatic method required 1 minute 11 seconds (SD = 12 seconds) of processing. Adding manual corrections required another 1 minute 32 seconds (SD = 38 seconds). CONCLUSIONS: Automatic and corrected-automatic quantification of ICV showed good agreement with the reference method. SyMRI software provided a fast and reproducible measure of ICV.
|
|
| 2. |
- Blystad, Ida, et al.
(författare)
-
Synthetic MRI of the brain in a clinical setting
- 2012
-
Ingår i: Acta Radiologica. - : Sage Publications. - 0284-1851 .- 1600-0455. ; 53:10, s. 1158-1163
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND:Conventional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has relatively long scan times for routine examinations, and the signal intensity of the images is related to the specific MR scanner settings. Due to scanner imperfections and automatic optimizations, it is impossible to compare images in terms of absolute image intensity. Synthetic MRI, a method to generate conventional images based on MR quantification, potentially both decreases examination time and enables quantitative measurements.PURPOSE:To evaluate synthetic MRI of the brain in a clinical setting by assessment of the contrast, the contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR), and the diagnostic quality compared with conventional MR images.MATERIAL AND METHODS:Twenty-two patients had synthetic imaging added to their clinical MR examination. In each patient, 12 regions of interest were placed in the brain images to measure contrast and CNR. Furthermore, general image quality, probable diagnosis, and lesion conspicuity were investigated.RESULTS:Synthetic T1-weighted turbo spin echo and T2-weighted turbo spin echo images had higher contrast but also a higher level of noise, resulting in a similar CNR compared with conventional images. Synthetic T2-weighted FLAIR images had lower contrast and a higher level of noise, which led to a lower CNR. Synthetic images were generally assessed to be of inferior image quality, but agreed with the clinical diagnosis to the same extent as the conventional images. Lesion conspicuity was higher in the synthetic T1-weighted images, which also had a better agreement with the clinical diagnoses than the conventional T1-weighted images.CONCLUSION:Synthetic MR can potentially shorten the MR examination time. Even though the image quality is perceived to be inferior, synthetic images agreed with the clinical diagnosis to the same extent as the conventional images in this study.
|
|
| 3. |
- Kvernby, Sofia, et al.
(författare)
-
Simultaneous three-dimensional myocardial T1 and T2 mapping in one breath hold with 3D-QALAS
- 2014
-
Ingår i: Journal of Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1097-6647 .- 1532-429X. ; 16:102
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND: Quantification of the longitudinal- and transverse relaxation time in the myocardium has shown to provide important information in cardiac diagnostics. Methods for cardiac relaxation time mapping generally demand a long breath hold to measure either T1 or T2 in a single 2D slice. In this paper we present and evaluate a novel method for 3D interleaved T1 and T2 mapping of the whole left ventricular myocardium within a single breath hold of 15 heartbeats.METHODS: The 3D-QALAS (3D-quantification using an interleaved Look-Locker acquisition sequence with T2 preparation pulse) is based on a 3D spoiled Turbo Field Echo sequence using inversion recovery with interleaved T2 preparation. Quantification of both T1 and T2 in a volume of 13 slices with a resolution of 2.0x2.0x6.0 mm is obtained from five measurements by using simulations of the longitudinal magnetizations Mz. This acquisition scheme is repeated three times to sample k-space. The method was evaluated both in-vitro (validated against Inversion Recovery and Multi Echo) and in-vivo (validated against MOLLI and Dual Echo).RESULTS: In-vitro, a strong relation was found between 3D-QALAS and Inversion Recovery (R = 0.998; N = 10; p < 0.01) and between 3D-QALAS and Multi Echo (R = 0.996; N = 10; p < 0.01). The 3D-QALAS method showed no dependence on e.g. heart rate in the interval of 40-120 bpm. In healthy myocardium, the mean T1 value was 1083 ± 43 ms (mean ± SD) for 3D-QALAS and 1089 ± 54 ms for MOLLI, while the mean T2 value was 50.4 ± 3.6 ms 3D-QALAS and 50.3 ± 3.5 ms for Dual Echo. No significant difference in in-vivo relaxation times was found between 3D-QALAS and MOLLI (N = 10; p = 0.65) respectively 3D-QALAS and Dual Echo (N = 10; p = 0.925) for the ten healthy volunteers.CONCLUSIONS: The 3D-QALAS method has demonstrated good accuracy and intra-scan variability both in-vitro and in-vivo. It allows rapid acquisition and provides quantitative information of both T1 and T2 relaxation times in the same scan with full coverage of the left ventricle, enabling clinical application in a broader spectrum of cardiac disorders.
|
|
| 4. |
|
|
| 5. |
|
|
| 6. |
- Engström, Maria, et al.
(författare)
-
Multi-Parametric Representation of Voxel-Based Quantitative Magnetic Resonance Imaging
- 2014
-
Ingår i: PLOS ONE. - : Public Library of Science. - 1932-6203. ; 9:11, s. e111688-
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The aim of the study was to explore the possibilities of multi-parametric representations of voxel-wise quantitative MRI data to objectively discriminate pathological cerebral tissue in patients with brain disorders. For this purpose, we recruited 19 patients with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) as benchmark samples and 19 age and gender matched healthy subjects as a reference group. The subjects were examined using quantitative Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) measuring the tissue structure parameters: relaxation rates, R-1 and R-2, and proton density. The resulting parameter images were normalized to a standard template. Tissue structure in MS patients was assessed by voxel-wise comparisons with the reference group and with correlation to a clinical measure, the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS). The results were visualized by conventional geometric representations and also by multi-parametric representations. Data showed that MS patients had lower R-1 and R-2, and higher proton density in periventricular white matter and in wide-spread areas encompassing central and sub-cortical white matter structures. MS-related tissue abnormality was highlighted in posterior white matter whereas EDSS correlation appeared especially in the frontal cortex. The multi-parameter representation highlighted disease-specific features. In conclusion, the proposed method has the potential to visualize both high-probability focal anomalies and diffuse tissue changes. Results from voxel-based statistical analysis, as exemplified in the present work, may guide radiologists where in the image to inspect for signs of disease. Future clinical studies must validate the usability of the method in clinical practice.
|
|
| 7. |
- Tisell, Anders, et al.
(författare)
-
Increased Concentrations of Glutamate and Glutamine in Normal Appearing White Matter of Patients with Multiple Sclerosis and Normal MR Imaging Brain Scans
- 2013
-
Ingår i: PLOS ONE. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1932-6203. ; 8:4
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In Multiple Sclerosis (MS) the relationship between disease process in normal-appearing white matter (NAWM) and the development of white matter lesions is not well understood. In this study we used single voxel proton ‘Quantitative Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy’ (qMRS) to characterize the NAWM and thalamus both in atypical ‘Clinically Definite MS’ (CDMS) patients, MRIneg (N = 15) with very few lesions (two or fewer lesions), and in typical CDMS patients, MRIpos (N = 20) with lesions, in comparison with healthy control subjects (N = 20). In addition, the metabolite concentrations were also correlated with extent of brain atrophy measured using Brain Parenchymal Fraction (BPF) and severity of the disease measured using ‘Multiple Sclerosis Severity Score’ (MSSS). Elevated concentrations of glutamate and glutamine (Glx) were observed in both MS groups (MRIneg 8.12 mM, p<0.001 and MRIpos 7.96 mM p<0.001) compared to controls, 6.76 mM. Linear regressions of Glx and total creatine (tCr) with MSSS were 0.16±0.06 mM/MSSS (p = 0.02) for Glx and 0.06±0.03 mM/MSSS (p = 0.04) for tCr, respectively. Moreover, linear regressions of tCr and myo-Inositol (mIns) with BPF were −6.22±1.63 mM/BPF (p<0.001) for tCr and −7.71±2.43 mM/BPF (p = 0.003) for mIns. Furthermore, the MRIpos patients had lower N-acetylaspartate and N-acetylaspartate-glutamate (tNA) and elevated mIns concentrations in NAWM compared to both controls (tNA: p = 0.04 mIns p<0.001) and MRIneg (tNA: p = 0.03 , mIns: p = 0.002). The results suggest that Glx may be an important marker for pathology in non-lesional white matter in MS. Moreover, Glx is related to the severity of MS independent of number of lesions in the patient. In contrast, increased glial density indicated by increased mIns and decreased neuronal density indicated by the decreased tNA, were only observed in NAWM of typical CDMS patients with white matter lesions.
|
|
| 8. |
- Tisell, Anders, et al.
(författare)
-
Procedure for Quantitative 1H Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy and Tissue Characterization of Human Brain Tissue Based on the Use of Quantitative Magnetic Resonance Imaging
- 2013
-
Ingår i: Magnetic Resonance in Medicine. - : Wiley. - 0740-3194 .- 1522-2594. ; 70:4, s. 905-915
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- PurposeExisting methods for quantitative magnetic resonance spectroscopy are not widely used for magnetic resonance spectroscopy examinations in clinical practice due to the lengthy and difficult workflow. In this report, we aimed to investigate whether metabolite concentrations show co-variation with relaxation parameters (R-1,R-H2O,R-2,R-H2O), water concentration (C-H2O), and age, using a quantitative magnetic resonance spectroscopy method, which is suitable for a clinical setting. MethodsWe performed 166 single voxel magnetic resonance spectroscopy measurements in the white matter and thalamus in 47 healthy subjects, aged 18-72 years. Whole brain R-1,R-H2O, R-2,R-H2O, and C-H2O maps were determined for each subject using quantitative magnetic resonance imaging. Absolute metabolite concentrations were calculated by calibrating the water-scaled magnetic resonance spectroscopy, using the quantitative magnetic resonance imaging maps of R-1,R-H2O, R-2,R-H2O, and C-H2O. ResultsAbsolute concentrations in white matter of total Creatine and myo-Inositol were correlated with age (total Creatine: 12 4 M/year, P < 0.01; myo-Inositol: 23 +/- 9 M/year, P < 0.05), suggesting a process of increased glia density in aging white matter. Moreover, total Creatine and total N-acetylaspartate were inversely correlated with the R-1,R-H2O and positively correlated with the C-H2O of white matter. In addition, the Cramer-Rao lower bound was biased regarding the metabolite concentration, suggesting that should not be used as a quality assessment. ConclusionThe implemented method was fast, robust, and user-independent.
|
|
| 9. |
- Vågberg, Mattias, et al.
(författare)
-
Automated Determination of Brain Parenchymal Fraction in Multiple Sclerosis
- 2013
-
Ingår i: American Journal of Neuroradiology. - : American Society of Neuroradiology. - 0195-6108 .- 1936-959X. ; 34:3, s. 498-504
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Brain atrophy is a manifestation of tissue damage in MS. Reduction in brain parenchymal fraction is an accepted marker of brain atrophy. In this study, the approach of synthetic tissue mapping was applied, in which brain parenchymal fraction was automatically calculated based on absolute quantification of the tissue relaxation rates R1 and R2 and the proton attenuation. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The BPF values of 99 patients with MS and 35 control subjects were determined by using SyMap and tested in relationship to clinical variables. A subset of 5 patients with MS and 5 control subjects were also analyzed with a manual segmentation technique as a reference. Reproducibility of SyMap was assessed in a separate group of 6 healthy subjects, each scanned 6 consecutive times. RESULTS: Patients with MS had significantly lower BPF (0.852 0.0041, mean +/- SE) compared with control subjects (0.890 +/- 0.0040). Significant linear relationships between BPF and age, disease duration, and Expanded Disability Status Scale scores were observed (P less than .001). A strong correlation existed between SyMap and the reference method (r = 0.96; P less than .001) with no significant difference in mean BPF. Coefficient of variation of repeated SyMap BPF measurements was 0.45%. Scan time was less than6 minutes, and postprocessing time was less than2 minutes. CONCLUSIONS: SyMap is a valid and reproducible method for determining BPF in MS within a clinically acceptable scan time and postprocessing time. Results are highly congruent with those described using other methods and show high agreement with the manual reference method.
|
|
| 10. |
|
|
