Open-source quality assurance for multi-parametric MRI: a diffusion analysis update for the magnetic resonance biomarker assessment software (MR-BIAS)
- Author(s)
- Korte, JC; Norris, SA; Carr, ME; Holloway, L; Cahoon, GD; Neijndorff, B; van Houdt, P; Franich, R;
- Journal Title
- Magma
- Publication Type
- Online publication before print
- Abstract
- OBJECTIVE: To validate the automated analysis of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) diffusion phantoms with an updated version of the magnetic resonance biomarker assessment software (MR-BIAS), an open-source tool initially developed for the analysis of MRI relaxometry phantoms. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The updated MR-BIAS was validated against two published diffusion weighted MRI datasets: (i) a single-site study (n = 48) was used for validation of apparent diffusion coefficients (ADC) and to identify optimal region of interest (ROI) selection, and (ii) a multi-centre multi-vendor study including diffusion imaging from a shared benchmark protocol (n = 49) and site-specific protocols (n = 43). ADC analysis compared both datasets with ROIs manually matched to the original studies, and with automatically detected optimal ROIs. RESULTS: MR-BIAS ADC values were statistically equivalent (p < 0.05) to original studies within tolerances (manual ROI, automatic ROI) for the single-site study (± 0.01, ± 6 μm(2)/s) and for the multi-vendor study for benchmark (± 4, ± 7 μm(2)/s) and site-specific (± 3, ± 6 μm(2)/s) protocols. The optimal ROI was a central cylinder (height = 10mm, diameter = 10mm). MR-BIAS ADC summary metrics were comparable to those of the original studies. DISCUSSION: MR-BIAS can automatically and accurately perform ADC analysis of diffusion phantoms, making the software suitable for the quality assurance of multi-centre studies of multi-parametric MRI.
- Keywords
- Diffusion magnetic resonance imaging (D038524); Imaging (D019047); Multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging (D000081364); Phantoms; Software [open source software] (D012984); Software validation (D012986)
- Department(s)
- Physical Sciences
- Publisher's Version
- https://doi.org/10.1007/s10334-025-01252-4
- Open Access at Publisher's Site
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10334-025-01252-4- Terms of Use/Rights Notice
- Refer to copyright notice on published article.
Creation Date: 2025-06-02 04:28:20
Last Modified: 2025-06-02 04:28:43