Objective: To investigate if abdominal adipose tissue volumes and ratios change after a 15-week structured resistance training intervention in postmenopausal women with vasomotor symptoms (VMS).Study design: Sixty-five postmenopausal women with VMS and low physical activity were randomized to either three days/week supervised resistance training or unchanged physical activity for 15 weeks. Women underwent clinical anthropometric measurements and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) at baseline and after 15 weeks. MRI was done using a Philips Ingenia 3.0 T MR scanner (Philips, Best, The Netherlands). The per protocol principle was used in the analysis of data.Main outcome measurements: The absolute change from baseline to week 15 in visceral adipose tissue (VAT) volume and the relative ratio (VAT ratio) between VAT and total abdominal adipose tissue (TAAT), i.e. the sum of abdominal subcutaneous adipose tissue (ASAT) and VAT.Results: There were no significant differences between the groups in characteristics, anthropometry or MRI measures at baseline. Women who were compliant with the intervention (i.e. participated in at least two of the three scheduled training sessions per week) had significantly different reduction over time in ASAT (p = 0.006), VAT (p = 0.002), TAAT (p = 0.003) and fat ratio (p < 0.001) compared with women in the control group.Conclusions: Implementation of a 15-week resistance training regimen in midlife may help women to counteract the abdominal fat redistribution associated with the menopausal transition. Clinical trials: gov registered ID: NCT01987778.

Investigation of the effect on accuracy and precision of different parameter settings is important for quantitative Magnetic Resonance Imaging. The purpose of this study was to investigate T1-bias and precision for muscle fat infiltration (MFI) using fat-referenced chemical shift magnetic resonance imaging at 5° and 10° flip angle. This [MB1] experimental study was done on forty postmenopausal women using 3T MRI test and retest images using 4-point 3D spoiled gradient multi-echo acquisition including real and imaginary images for reconstruction acquired at Flip angles 5° and 10°. Post-processing included T2* correction and fat-referenced calibration of the fat signal. The mean MFI was calculated in six different automatically segmented muscle regions using both the fat-referenced fat signal and the fat fraction calculated from the fat and water image pair for each acquisition. The variance of the difference between mean MFI from test and retest was used as measure of precision. The SNR characteristics were analyzed by measuring difference of the full width half maximum of the fat signal distribution using Student’s t-test.There was no difference in the mean fat-referenced MFI at different flip angles with the fat-referenced technique, which was the case using the fat fraction. No significant difference in the precision was found in any of the muscles analyzed. However, the full width half maximum of the fat signal distribution was significantly lower at 10° flip angle compared to 5°. Fat-referenced MFI is insensitive to T1 bias in chemical shift magnetic resonance imaging enabling usage of a higher and more SNR effective flip angle. The lower full-width-at half-maximum in fat-referenced MFI at 10° indicates that high flip angle acquisition is advantageous although no significant differences in precision was observed comparing 5° and 10°.

Purpose There is an absence of reproducibility studies on MRI-based body composition analysis in current literature. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the between-scanner reproducibility and the repeatability of a method for MRI-based body composition analysis. Methods Eighteen healthy volunteers of varying body mass index and adiposity were each scanned twice on five different 1.5T and 3T scanners from three different vendors. Two-point Dixon neck-to knee images and two additional liver scans were acquired with similar protocols. Visceral adipose tissue (VAT) volume, abdominal subcutaneous adipose tissue (ASAT) volume, thigh muscle volume, and muscle fat infiltration (MFI) in the thigh muscle were measured. Liver proton density fat fraction (PDFF) was assessed using two different methods, the scanner vendors 6-point method and an in-house 2-point method. Within-scanner test-retest repeatability and between-scanner reproducibility were calculated using analysis of variance. Results Repeatability coefficients were 13 centiliters (cl) (VAT), 24 cl (ASAT), 17 cl (total thigh muscle volume), 0.53% (MFI), and 1.27-1.37% for liver PDFF. Reproducibility coefficients were 24 cl (VAT), 42 cl (ASAT), 31 cl (total thigh muscle volume), 1.44% (MFI), and 2.37-2.40% for liver PDFF. Conclusion For all measures except MFI, the within-scanner repeatability explained much of the overall reproducibility. The two methods for measuring liver fat had similar reproducibility. This study showed that the investigated method eliminates effects due to scanner differences. The results can be used for power calculations in clinical studies or to better understand the scanner-induced variability in clinical applications.

This paper gives a brief overview of common non-invasive techniques for body composition analysis and a more in-depth review of a body composition assessment method based on fat-referenced quantitative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Earlier published studies of this method are summarized, and a previously un-published validation study, based on 4.753 subjects from the UK Biobank imaging cohort, comparing the quantitative MRI method with dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) is presented. For whole-body measurements of adipose tissue (AT) or fat and lean tissue (LT), DXA and quantitative MRI show excellent agreement with linear correlation of 0.99 and 0.97, and coefficient of variation (CV) of 4.5 % and 4.6 % for fat (computed from AT) and lean tissue respectively, but the agreement was found significantly lower for visceral adipose tissue, with a CV of more than 20 %. The additional ability of MRI to also measure muscle volumes, muscle AT infiltration and ectopic fat in combination with rapid scanning protocols and efficient image analysis tools make quantitative MRI a powerful tool for advanced body composition assessment. 

ObjectiveMethodsThis study aimed to investigate the value of imaging-based multivariable body composition profiling by describing its association with coronary heart disease (CHD), type 2 diabetes (T2D), and metabolic health on individual and population levels. The first 6,021 participants scanned by UK Biobank were included. Body composition profiles (BCPs) were calculated, including abdominal subcutaneous adipose tissue, visceral adipose tissue (VAT), thigh muscle volume, liver fat, and muscle fat infiltration (MFI), determined using magnetic resonance imaging. Associations between BCP and metabolic status were investigated using matching procedures and multivariable statistical modeling. ResultsConclusionsMatched control analysis showed that higher VAT and MFI were associated with CHD and T2D (Pamp;lt;0.001). Higher liver fat was associated with T2D (Pamp;lt;0.001) and lower liver fat with CHD (Pamp;lt;0.05), matching on VAT. Multivariable modeling showed that lower VAT and MFI were associated with metabolic health (Pamp;lt;0.001), and liver fat was nonsignificant. Associations remained significant adjusting for sex, age, BMI, alcohol, smoking, and physical activity. Body composition profiling enabled an intuitive visualization of body composition and showed the complexity of associations between fat distribution and metabolic status, stressing the importance of a multivariable approach. Different diseases were linked to different BCPs, which could not be described by a single fat compartment alone.

Objectives To determine precision of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) based fat and muscle quantification in a group of postmenopausal women. Furthermore, to extend the method to individual muscles relevant to upper-body exercise. Materials and methods This was a sub-study to a randomized control trial investigating effects of resistance training to decrease hot flushes in postmenopausal women. Thirty-six women were included, mean age 56 +/- 6 years. Each subject was scanned twice with a 3.0T MR-scanner using a whole-body Dixon protocol. Water and fat images were calculated using a 6-peak lipid model including R2*-correction. Body composition analyses were performed to measure visceral and subcutaneous fat volumes, lean volumes and muscle fat infiltration (MFI) of the muscle groups thigh muscles, lower leg muscles, and abdominal muscles, as well as the three individual muscles pectoralis, latissimus, and rhomboideus. Analysis was performed using a multi-atlas, calibrated water-fat separated quantification method. Liver-fat was measured as average proton density fat-fraction (PDFF) of three regions-of-interest. Precision was determined with Bland-Altman analysis, repeatability, and coefficient of variation. Results All of the 36 included women were successfully scanned and analysed. The coefficient of variation was 1.1% to 1.5% for abdominal fat compartments (visceral and subcutaneous), 0.8% to 1.9% for volumes of muscle groups (thigh, lower leg, and abdomen), and 2.3% to 7.0% for individual muscle volumes (pectoralis, latissimus, and rhomboideus). Limits of agreement for MFI was within +/- 2.06% for muscle groups and within +/- 5.13% for individual muscles. The limits of agreement for liver PDFF was within +/- 1.9%. Conclusion Whole-body Dixon MRI could characterize a range of different fat and muscle compartments with high precision, including individual muscles, in the study-group of postmenopausal women. The inclusion of individual muscles, calculated from the same scan, enables analysis for specific intervention programs and studies.

BACKGROUND CONTEXT: The development of muscle fat infiltration (MFI) in the neck muscles is associated with poor functional recovery following whiplash injury. Custom software and time-consuming manual segmentation of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is required for quantitative analysis and presents as a barrier for clinical translation. PURPOSE: The purpose of this work was to establish a qualitative MRI measure for MFI and evaluate its ability to differentiate between individuals with severe whiplash-associated disorder (WAD), mild or moderate WAD, and healthy controls. STUDY DESIGN/SETTING: This is a cross-sectional study. PATIENT SAMPLE: Thirty-one subjects with WAD and 31 age-and sex-matched controls were recruited from an ongoing randomized controlled trial. OUTCOME MEASURES: The cervical multifidus was visually identified and segmented into eighths in the axial fat/water images (C4-C7). Muscle fat infiltration was assessed on a visual scale: 0 for no or marginal MFI, 1 for light MFI, and 2 for distinct MFI. The participants with WAD were divided in two groups: mild or moderate and severe based on Neck Disability Index % scores. METHODS: The mean regional MFI was compared between the healthy controls and each of the WAD groups using the Mann-Whitney U test. Receiver operator characteristic (ROC) analyses were carried out to evaluate the validity of the qualitative method. RESULTS: Twenty (65%) patients had mild or moderate disability and 11 (35%) were considered severe. Inter- and intra-rater reliability was excellent when grading was averaged by level or when frequency of grade II was considered. Statistically significant differences (pamp;lt;.05) in regional MFI were particularly notable between the severe WAD group and healthy controls. The ROC curve, based on detection of distinct MFI, showed an area-under-the curve of 0.768 (95% confidence interval 0.59-0.94) for discrimination of WAD participants. CONCLUSIONS: These preliminary results suggest a qualitative MRI measure for MFI is reliable and valid, and may prove useful toward the classification of WAD in radiology practice. (C) 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Body composition analysis is increasingly important for diagnosis and follow-up in many patient groups and medical conditions. The combined fat and muscle quantification on global and regional level is not commonly reported. In this study a Dixon-MRI based acquisition and body composition analysis was extended to quantify individual muscles. Test-retest reliability was established in a clinically relevant group of 36 postmenopausal women. This method enables advanced phenotyping combined with measurements of specific muscles to target clinical questions. 

STUDY DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. BACKGROUND: Findings of fat infiltration in cervical spine multifidus, as a sign of degenerative morphometric changes due to whiplash injury, need to be verified. OBJECTIVES: To develop a method using water/fat magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to investigate fat infiltration and cross-sectional area of multifidus muscle in individuals with whiplash associated disorders (WADS) compared to healthy controls. METHODS: Fat infiltration and cross-sectional area in the multifidus muscles spanning the C4 to C7 segmental levels were investigated by manual segmentation using water/fat-separated MRI in 31 participants with WAD and 31 controls, matched for age and sex. RESULTS: Based on average values for data spanning C4 to C7, participants with severe disability related to WAD had 38% greater muscular fat infiltration compared to healthy controls (P = .03) and 45% greater fat infiltration compared to those with mild to moderate disability related to WAD (P = .02). There were no significant differences between those with mild to moderate disability and healthy controls. No significant differences between groups were found for multifidus cross-sectional area. Significant differences were observed for both cross-sectional area and fat infiltration between segmental levels. CONCLUSION: Participants with severe disability after a whiplash injury had higher fat infiltration in the multifidus compared to controls and to those with mild/moderate disability secondary to WAD. Earlier reported findings using T1-weighted MRI were reproduced using refined imaging technology. The results of the study also indicate a risk when segmenting single cross-sectional slices, as both cross-sectional area and fat infiltration differ between cervical levels.

Water-fat separated MRI, based on Dixon imaging techniques enables high soft-tissue contrast and the separation of fat and muscle compartments. This study investigate the feasibility and success-rate of one recently described method for MR data-acquisition and body composition analysis, in a large-scale population study. The first 1,000 subjects in the UK Biobank imaging cohort were scanned, quality assured and included for body composition analysis. Volumes of visceral adipose tissue, abdominal subcutaneous tissue, and thigh muscles were calculated. This study showed that the rapid MR-examination was sufficiently robust to achieve very high success-rate for body composition analysis. 

PURPOSE

To describe the distribution of MRI-derived body composition measurements in subjects with cardiovascular disease (CVD) compared to subjects without any history of CVD.

METHOD AND MATERIALS

1864 males and 2036 females with an age range from 45 to 78 years from the UK Biobank imaging study were included in the study. Visceral adipose tissue volume normalized with height² (VATi), total abdominal adipose tissue volume normalized with height² (ATATi), total lean thigh muscle volume normalized with body weight (muscle ratio) and liver proton density fat fraction (PDFF) were measured with a 2-point Dixon imaging protocol covering neck to knee and a 10-point Dixon single slice protocol positioned within the liver using a 1.5T MR-scanner (Siemens, Germany). The MR-images were analyzed using AMRA® Profiler research (AMRA, Sweden). 213 subjects with history of cardiovascular events (angina, heart attack, or stroke) (event group) were age and gender matched to subjects with high blood pressure (HBP group), and subjects without CVD (controls).Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney U tests were used to test the observed differences for each measurement and group without correction for multiple comparisons.

RESULTS

VATi in the event group was 1.73 (1.13 - 2.32) l/m² (median, 25%-75% percentile) compared to 1.68 (1.19 - 2.23) in the HBP group, and 1.30 (0.82-1.87) in the controls. ATATi in the event group was 4.31 (2.90-5.39) l/m² compared to 4.05 (3.07-5.12) in the HBP group, and 3.48 (2.48-4.61) in the controls. Muscle ratio in the event group was 0.13 (0.12 - 0.15) l/kg as well as in the HBP group, compared to 0.14 (0.12 - 0.15) in the controls. Liver PDFF in the event group was 2.88 (1.77 - 7.72) % compared to 3.44 (2.04-6.18) in the HBP group, and 2.50 (1.58 - 5.15) in the controls. Kruskal-Wallis test showed significant differences for all variables and group comparisons (p<0.007). The post hoc test showed significant differences comparing the controls to both the event group and the HBP group. These were more significant for VATi and ATATi (p<10-4) than for muscle ratio and PDFF (p<0.03). No significant differences were detected between the event group and the HBP group.

CONCLUSION

Cardiovascular disease is strongly associated with high VATi, liver fat, and ATATi, and with low muscle ratio.

CLINICAL RELEVANCE/APPLICATION

The metabolic syndrome component in CVD can be effectively described using MRI-based body composition profiling.

PURPOSE

To describe the distribution of MRI derived body composition measurements in subjects with diabetes mellitus (DM) compared to subjects without diabetes.

METHOD AND MATERIALS

3900 subjects (1864 males and 2036 females) from the UK Biobank imaging study were included in the study. The age range was 45 to 78 years. Visceral adipose tissue volume normalized with height² (VATi), total abdominal adipose tissue volume normalized with height² (ATATi), total lean thigh muscle volume normalized with body weight (muscle ratio) and liver proton density fat fraction (PDFF) were measured with a 6 minutes 2-point Dixon imaging protocol covering neck to knee and a 10-point Dixon single axial slice protocol positioned within the liver using a 1.5T MR-scanner (Siemens, Germany). The MR-images were analyzed using AMRA® Profiler research (AMRA, Sweden). 194 subjects with clinically diagnosed DM (DM group) were age and gender matched to subjects without DM (control group). For each variable and group, the median, 25%-percentile and 75%-percentile was calculated. Mann-Whitney U test was used to test the observed differences.

RESULTS

VATi in the DM group was 2.13 (1.43-2.62) l/m² (median, 25% - 75% percentile) compared to 1.32 (0.86 - 1.79) l/m² in the control group. ATATi in the DM group was 4.94 (3.86-6.19) l/m² compared to 3.40 (2.56 - 4.70) l/m² in the control group. Muscle ratio in the DM group was 0.13 (0.11 - 0.14) l/kg compared to 0.14 (0.12 - 0.15) l/kg in the control group. Liver PDFF in the DM group was 7.23 (2.68 - 13.26) % compared to 2.49 (1.53 - 4.73) % in the control group. Mann-Whitney U test detected significant differences between the DM group and the control group for all variables (p<10-5).

CONCLUSION

DM is strongly associated with high visceral fat, liver fat, and total abdominal fat, and low muscle ratio.

CLINICAL RELEVANCE/APPLICATION

Body composition profiling shows high potential to provide direct biomarkers to improve characterization and early diagnosis of DM.

PURPOSE

To identify gender specific threshold values for sarcopenia detection for lean thigh muscle tissue volume quantified using MRI.

METHOD AND MATERIALS

Current gender-specific thresholds for sarcopenia detection are based on quantification on appendicular lean tissue normalized with height^2 using DXA (7.26 kg/m² for men and 5.45 kg/m² for women). In this study 3514 subjects (1548 males and 1966 females) in the imaging subcohort of UK Biobank with paired DXA and MRI scans were included. The age range was 45 to 78 years. The total lean thigh volume normalized with height² (TTVi) was determined with a 6 minutes neck to knee 2-point Dixon MRI protocol using a 1.5T MR-scanner (Siemens, Germany) followed by analysis with AMRA® Profiler (AMRA, Sweden). The appendicular lean tissue mass normalized with height² (ALTMi) was assessed using DXA (GE-Lunar iDXA). Subjects with ALTMi lower than the gender specific threshold were categorized as sarcopenic. Gender specific threshold values were determined for detection of sarcopenic subjects based on TTVi optimizing sensitivity and specificity. Area under receiver operator curve (AUROC) was calculated as well as the linear correlation between TTVi and ALTMi.

RESULTS

A threshold value of TTVi = 3.64 l/m² provided a sensitivity and specificity of 0.88 for sarcopenia detection in males. The AUROC was 0.96. Similarly, a TTVi < 2.76 l/m² identified sarcopenic female subjects with a sensitivity and specificity of 0.89. The corresponding AUROC was 0.96. The linear correlation between TTVi and ALTMi was 0.93 (99%CI: 0.93-0.94).

CONCLUSION

MRI-based quantification of total lean thigh volume normalized with height^2 could be used to categorize sarcopenia in the study group. Threshold values are suggested.

CLINICAL RELEVANCE/APPLICATION

The study suggests that sarcopenia can be diagnosed using a rapid MRI scan with high sensitivity and specificity.

Introduction

Quantitative and accurate measurements of fat and muscle in the body are important for prevention and diagnosis of diseases related to obesity and muscle degeneration. Manually segmenting muscle and fat compartments in MR body-images is laborious and time-consuming, hindering implementation in large cohorts. In the present study, the feasibility and success-rate of a Dixon-based MR scan followed by an intensity-normalised, non-rigid, multi-atlas based segmentation was investigated in a cohort of 3,000 subjects.

Materials and Methods

3,000 participants in the in-depth phenotyping arm of the UK Biobank imaging study underwent a comprehensive MR examination. All subjects were scanned using a 1.5 T MR-scanner with the dual-echo Dixon Vibe protocol, covering neck to knees. Subjects were scanned with six slabs in supine position, without localizer. Automated body composition analysis was performed using the AMRA Profiler™ system, to segment and quantify visceral adipose tissue (VAT), abdominal subcutaneous adipose tissue (ASAT) and thigh muscles. Technical quality assurance was performed and a standard set of acceptance/rejection criteria was established. Descriptive statistics were calculated for all volume measurements and quality assurance metrics.

Results

Of the 3,000 subjects, 2,995 (99.83 %) were analysable for fat, 2,828 (94.27 %) were analysable when fat and one thigh was included, and 2,775 (92.50 %) were fully analysable for fat and both thigh muscles. Reasons for not being able to analyse datasets were mainly due to missing slabs in the acquisition, or patient positioned so that large parts of the volume was outside of the field-of-view.

Discussion and Conclusions

In conclusion, this study showed that the rapid UK Biobank MR-protocol was well tolerated by most subjects and sufficiently robust to achieve very high success-rate for body composition analysis. This research has been conducted using the UK Biobank Resource.

This study tested how the flip angle affects body composition analysis by MRI, if adipose tissue is used as an internal intensity reference. Whole-body water-fat images with flip angle 5° and 10° were collected from 29 women in an ongoing study. The images were calibrated based on the adipose tissue signal and whole-body total adipose, lean and soft tissue volumes were measured. A mean difference of 0.29 L, or 0.90 % of the average volume, and a coefficient of variation of 0.40 % was observed for adipose tissue.

Quantitative and exact measurements of fat and muscle in the body are important when addressing some of the greatest health-challenges today. In this study whole-body combined regional muscle and fat volume quantification was validated in a group of postmenopausal women, where the body composition is changing. Twelve subjects were scanned with a 4-echo 3D gradient-echo sequence. Water and fat image volumes were calculated using IDEAL, and image intensity correction was performed. Subsequently, automatic tissue segmentation was established using non-rigid morphon based registration. Whole-body regional fat and muscle segmentation could be performed with excellent test-retest reliability, in a single 7-minutes MR-scan.

Introduction: Magnetic Resonance Imaging is a sensitive technique for detecting white matter (WM) MS lesions, but the relation with clinical disability is low. Because of this, changes in both ‘normal appearing white matter’ (NAWM) and ‘diffusely abnormal white matter’ (DAWM) have been of interest in recent years. MR techniques, including quantitative magnetic resonance imaging (qMRI) and quantitative magnetic resonance spectroscopy (qMRS), have been developed in order to detect and  quantify such changes.

In this study, a combination of qMRI and qMRS was used to investigate NAWM and DAWM in typical MS patients and in MS patients with low number of WM lesions. Patient data were compared to ‘normal white matter’ (NWM) in healthy controls.

Methods: QMRI and qMRS measurements were performed on a 1.5T Philips MR-scanner. 35 patients with clinically definite MS and 20 healthy controls were included. Fifteen of the patients showed few WM lesions (‘MRIneg‘) and 20 showed radiologically typical findings (‘MRIpos’). QMRI properties were determined in ROIs of NAWM, DAWM and WM lesions in the MS groups and of NWM in controls. Descriptive statistical analysis and comparisons were performed. Correlations were calculated between qMRI measurements and (1) clinical parameters and (2) WM metabolite concentrations. Regression analyses were performed with brain parenchyma fraction and MSSS.

Results: NAWM in the MRIneg group was significantly different from NAWM in the MRIpos group and NWM. In addition, R1 and R2 of NAWM in the MRIpos group correlated negatively with EDSS and MSSS. DAWM was significantly different from NWM, but similar in the two MS groups. N-acetyl aspartate correlated negatively with R1 and R2 in MRIneg. Finally, R2 of DAWM was associated with BPF.

Conclusions: Changes in NAWM and DAWM are independent pathological entities in the disease. Combined qMRI and qMRS measurements of NAWM and DAWM provide important markers for disease status.

Bildtagning med magnetresonanstomografi (MRT) är en teknik som kan användas för att upptäcka lesioner i vit substans hos patienter med multipel skleros (MS), men sambandet mellan lesioner och klinisk funktionsnedsättning är svagt. På grund av detta har intresset för andra patologiska processer i hjärnan ökat. Exempel är förändringar i vit substans som ser normal ut vid MRT (NAWM) och även så kallad diffus vit vävnad (DAWM). Det är emellertid fortfarande oklart vilka mekanismer i MS som leder till klinisk funktionsnedsättning.

Med kvantitativ MRT (qMRT) kan fysiologiska egenskaper i vävnaden, som till exempel relaxationstiderna (T1 och T2) samt protontäthet (PD), mätas. QMRT kan användas för att mäta förändringar i hjärnan hos MS patienter och dessutom för segmentering av hjärnvävnad vid neurodegenerativa sjukdomar.

I detta arbete beskrivs en ny metod för qMRT applicerat på den mänskliga hjärnan (QMAP) och en segmenteringsmetod som baserades på denna. Metoderna validerades både i friska kontroller och i MR fantom. Slutligen användes qMRT för att undersöka hjärnan hos MS patienter. I studierna inkluderades 50 friska kontroller och 35 MS patienter, där totalt 225 bildtagningar med QMAP utfördes.

Ett viktigt resultat var att qMRT kunde användas för att upptäcka och mäta förändringar i hjärnan hos MS patienter som inte var synliga vid konventionell MRT. DAWM utgjorde en intermediär mellan NAWM och lesioner i vit vävnad. Resultaten pekade mot att dessa förändringar inte endast orsakades av Wallerisk degeneration.

QMAP metoden hade hög noggrannhet och relativt hög precision samt kunde användas med en kliniskt relevant tid för bildtagningen. Genom att använda förhandsdefinierade vävnadsegenskaper kunde qMRT tekniken även användas för segmentering av hjärnvävnad och för att beräkna volymer. Segmenteringen hade hög repeterbarhet men den minskade något när olika geometrier eller fältstyrkor användes. Små skillnader mellan 1.5 T och 3.0 T detekterades framför allt i djupa hjärnstrukturer, lillhjärnan och hjärnstammen.

I detta arbete demonstrerades två applikationer av qMRT för hjärnan. Den största utmaningen för kommande år blir att förstå och förklara sambanden mellan qMRT och underliggande biologiska egenskaper.

Background

Brain tissue segmentation of white matter (WM), grey matter (GM), and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) are important in neuroradiological applications. Quantitative Mri (qMRI) allows segmentation based on physical tissue properties, and the dependencies on MR scanner settings are removed. Brain tissue groups into clusters in the three dimensional space formed by the qMRI parameters R₁, R₂ and PD, and partial volume voxels are intermediate in this space. The qMRI parameters, however, depend on the main magnetic field strength. Therefore, longitudinal studies can be seriously limited by system upgrades. The aim of this work was to apply one recently described brain tissue segmentation method, based on qMRI, at both 1.5 T and 3.0 T field strengths, and to investigate similarities and differences.

Methods

In vivo qMRI measurements were performed on 10 healthy subjects using both 1.5 T and 3.0 T MR scanners. The brain tissue segmentation method was applied for both 1.5 T and 3.0 T and volumes of WM, GM, CSF and brain parenchymal fraction (BPF) were calculated on both field strengths. Repeatability was calculated for each scanner and a General Linear Model was used to examine the effect of field strength. Voxel-wise t-tests were also performed to evaluate regional differences.

Results

Statistically significant differences were found between 1.5 T and 3.0 T for WM, GM, CSF and BPF (p<0.001). Analyses of main effects showed that WM was underestimated, while GM and CSF were overestimated on 1.5 T compared to 3.0 T. The mean differences between 1.5 T and 3.0 T were -66 mL WM, 40 mL GM, 29 mL CSF and -1.99% BPF. Voxel-wise t-tests revealed regional differences of WM and GM in deep brain structures, cerebellum and brain stem.

Conclusions

Most of the brain was identically classified at the two field strengths, although some regional differences were observed.

OBJECTIVES:

Brain segmentation and volume estimation of grey matter (GM), white matter (WM) and cerebro-spinal fluid (CSF) are important for many neurological applications. Volumetric changes are observed in multiple sclerosis (MS), Alzheimer's disease and dementia, and in normal aging. A novel method is presented to segment brain tissue based on quantitative magnetic resonance imaging (qMRI) of the longitudinal relaxation rate R(1), the transverse relaxation rate R(2) and the proton density, PD.

METHODS:

Previously reported qMRI values for WM, GM and CSF were used to define tissues and a Bloch simulation performed to investigate R(1), R(2) and PD for tissue mixtures in the presence of noise. Based on the simulations a lookup grid was constructed to relate tissue partial volume to the R(1)-R(2)-PD space. The method was validated in 10 healthy subjects. MRI data were acquired using six resolutions and three geometries.

RESULTS:

Repeatability for different resolutions was 3.2% for WM, 3.2% for GM, 1.0% for CSF and 2.2% for total brain volume. Repeatability for different geometries was 8.5% for WM, 9.4% for GM, 2.4% for CSF and 2.4% for total brain volume.

CONCLUSION:

We propose a new robust qMRI-based approach which we demonstrate in a patient with MS. KEY POINTS : • A method for segmenting the brain and estimating tissue volume is presented • This method measures white matter, grey matter, cerebrospinal fluid and remaining tissue • The method calculates tissue fractions in voxel, thus accounting for partial volume • Repeatability was 2.2% for total brain volume with imaging resolution <2.0 mm.

A method is presented for rapid simultaneous quantification of the longitudinal T1 relaxation, the transverse T2 relaxation, the proton density (PD), and the amplitude of the local radio frequency B 1 field. All four parameters are measured in one single scan by means of a multislice, multiecho, and multidelay acquisition. It is based on a previously reported method, which was substantially improved for routine clinical usage. The improvements comprise of the use of a multislice spin-echo technique, a background phase correction, and a spin system simulation to compensate for the slice-selective RF pulse profile effects. The aim of the optimization was to achieve the optimal result for the quantification of magnetic resonance parameters within a clinically acceptable time. One benchmark was high-resolution coverage of the brain within 5 min. In this scan time the measured intersubject standard deviation (SD) in a group of volunteers was 2% to 8%, depending on the tissue (voxel size = 0.8 x 0.8 x 5 mm). As an example, the method was applied to a patient with multiple sclerosis in whom the diseased tissue could clearly be distinguished from healthy reference values. Additionally it was shown that, using the approach of synthetic MRI, both accurate conventional contrast images as well as quantification maps can be generated based on the same scan. © 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc.