Impact of tissue atrophy on high-pass filtered MRI signal phase-based assessment in large-scale group-comparison studies: a simulation study

Frontiers in Physics

Deistung, Andreas¹  Reichenbach, Jü¹  Schweser, Ferdinand¹  Dwyer, Michael G²  rgen R.² 

[1] Jena University Hospital - Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Medical Physics Group, Insitute of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology I, Philosophenweg 3, Building 5, MRT, Jena, 07743, Germany;University at Buffalo, State University of New York, Buffalo Neuroimaging Analysis Center, Department of Neurology, School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, 100 High St, Buffalo, 14203, NY, United States

关键词: Atrophy;    Phase imaging;    magnetic susceptibility;    tissue iron;    artifacts;    high pass filtering;    group comparison;    MRI;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fphy.2013.00014

学科分类：物理（综合）

来源: Frontiers

【 摘 要 】

The assessment of abnormal accumulation of tissue iron in the basal ganglia nuclei and in white matter plaques using the gradient echo magnetic resonance signal phase has become a research focus in many neurodegenerative diseases such as multiple sclerosis or Parkinson’s disease. A common and natural approach is to calculate the mean high-pass-filtered phase of previously delineated brain structures. Unfortunately, the interpretation of such an analysis requires caution: in this paper we demonstrate that regional gray matter atrophy, which is concomitant with many neurodegenerative diseases, may itself directly result in a phase shift seemingly indicative of increased iron concentration even without any real change in the tissue iron concentration. Although this effect is relatively small results of large-scale group comparisons may be driven by anatomical changes rather than by changes of the iron concentration.

【 授权许可】

CC BY