Quantification of Cervical Cord Cross-Sectional Area: Which Acquisition, Vertebra Level, and Analysis Software? A Multicenter Repeatability Study on a Traveling Healthy Volunteer.

ABSTRACT: Background: Considerable spinal cord (SC) atrophy occurs in multiple sclerosis (MS). While MRI-based techniques for SC cross-sectional area (CSA) quantification have improved over time, there is no common agreement on whether to measure at single vertebral levels or across larger regions and whether upper SC CSA can be reliably measured from brain images. Aim: To compare in a multicenter setting three CSA measurement methods in terms of repeatability at different anatomical levels. To analyze the agreement between measurements performed on the cervical cord and on brain MRI. Method: One healthy volunteer was scanned three times on the same day in six sites (three scanner vendors) using a 3T MRI protocol including sagittal 3D T1-weighted imaging of the brain (covering t

SUBMITTER: Lukas C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8371197 | biostudies-literature | 2021

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature