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Measures of spinal cord morphometry computed from magnetic resonance images serve as relevant prognostic biomarkers for a range of spinal co… (see more)rd pathologies, including traumatic and non-traumatic spinal cord injury and neurodegenerative diseases. However, interpreting these imaging biomarkers is difficult due to considerable intra- and inter-subject variability. Yet, there is no clear consensus on a normalization method that would help reduce this variability and more insights into the distribution of these morphometrics are needed. In this study, we computed a database of normative values for six commonly used measures of spinal cord morphometry: cross-sectional area, anteroposterior diameter, transverse diameter, compression ratio, eccentricity, and solidity. Normative values were computed from a large open-access dataset of healthy adult volunteers (N = 203) and were brought to the common space of the PAM50 spinal cord template using a newly proposed normalization method based on linear interpolation. Compared to traditional image-based registration, the proposed normalization approach does not involve image transformations and, therefore, does not introduce distortions of spinal cord anatomy. This is a crucial consideration in preserving the integrity of the spinal cord anatomy in conditions such as spinal cord injury. This new morphometric database allows researchers to normalize based on sex and age, thereby minimizing inter-subject variability associated with demographic and biological factors. The proposed methodology is open-source and accessible through the Spinal Cord Toolbox (SCT) v6.0 and higher.
Background: Quantitative MRI biomarkers in spinal cord injury (SCI) can help understand the extent of the focal injury. However, due to the … (see more)lack of automatic segmentation methods, these biomarkers are derived manually, which is a time-consuming process prone to intra- and inter-rater variability, thus limiting large multi-site studies and translation to clinical workflows. Purpose: To develop a deep learning tool for the automatic segmentation of T2-weighted hyperintense lesions and the spinal cord in SCI patients. Material and Methods: This retrospective study included a cohort of SCI patients from three sites enrolled between July 2002 and February 2023 who underwent clinical MRI examination. A deep learning model, SCIseg, was trained on T2-weighted images with heterogeneous image resolutions (isotropic, anisotropic), and orientations (axial, sagittal) acquired using scanners from different manufacturers (Siemens, Philips, GE) and different field strengths (1T, 1.5T, 3T) for the automatic segmentation of SCI lesions and the spinal cord. The proposed method was visually and quantitatively compared with other open-source baseline methods. Quantitative biomarkers (lesion volume, lesion length, and maximal axial damage ratio) computed from manual ground-truth lesion masks and automatic SCIseg predictions were correlated with clinical scores (pinprick, light touch, and lower extremity motor scores). A between-group comparison was performed using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test. Results: MRI data from 191 SCI patients (mean age, 48.1 years {+/-} 17.9 [SD]; 142 males) were used for training. Compared to existing methods, SCIseg achieved the best segmentation performance for both the cord and lesions and generalized well to both traumatic and non-traumatic SCI patients. SCIseg is open-source and accessible through the Spinal Cord Toolbox. Conclusion: Automatic segmentation of intramedullary lesions commonly seen in traumatic SCI replaces the tedious manual annotation process and enables the extraction of relevant lesion morphometrics in large cohorts. The proposed model generalizes across lesion etiologies (traumatic, ischemic), scanner manufacturers and heterogeneous image resolutions.
Precise identification of spinal nerve rootlets is relevant to delineate spinal levels for the study of functional activity in the spinal co… (see more)rd. The goal of this study was to develop an automatic method for the semantic segmentation of spinal nerve rootlets from T2-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans. Images from two open-access MRI datasets were used to train a 3D multi-class convolutional neural network using an active learning approach to segment C2-C8 dorsal nerve rootlets. Each output class corresponds to a spinal level. The method was tested on 3T T2-weighted images from datasets unseen during training to assess inter-site, inter-session, and inter-resolution variability. The test Dice score was 0.67 +- 0.16 (mean +- standard deviation across testing images and rootlets levels), suggesting a good performance. The method also demonstrated low inter-vendor and inter-site variability (coefficient of variation <= 1.41 %), as well as low inter-session variability (coefficient of variation <= 1.30 %) indicating stable predictions across different MRI vendors, sites, and sessions. The proposed methodology is open-source and readily available in the Spinal Cord Toolbox (SCT) v6.2 and higher.
The spinal cord plays a pivotal role in the central nervous system, providing communication between the brain and the body and containing cr… (see more)itical motor and sensory networks. Recent advancements in spinal cord MRI data acquisition and image analysis have shown a potential to improve the diagnostics, prognosis, and management of a variety of pathological conditions. In this review, we first discuss the significance of standardized spinal cord MRI acquisition protocol in multi-center and multi-manufacturer studies. Then, we cover open-access spinal cord MRI datasets, which are important for reproducible science and validation of new methods. Finally, we elaborate on the recent advances in spinal cord MRI data analysis techniques implemented in the open-source software package Spinal Cord Toolbox (SCT).
2023-12-31
Magnetic Resonance in Medical Sciences (published)
We propose quality assessment criteria and metrics for gray‐matter visualization and apply them to different protocols. The proposed crite… (see more)ria and metrics, the analyzed protocols, and our open‐source code can serve as a benchmark for future optimization of spinal cord gray‐matter imaging protocols.
In a companion paper by Cohen-Adad et al. we introduce the spine generic quantitative MRI protocol that provides valuable metrics for assess… (see more)ing spinal cord macrostructural and microstructural integrity. This protocol was used to acquire a single subject dataset across 19 centers and a multi-subject dataset across 42 centers (for a total of 260 participants), spanning the three main MRI manufacturers: GE, Philips and Siemens. Both datasets are publicly available via git-annex. Data were analysed using the Spinal Cord Toolbox to produce normative values as well as inter/intra-site and inter/intra-manufacturer statistics. Reproducibility for the spine generic protocol was high across sites and manufacturers, with an average inter-site coefficient of variation of less than 5% for all the metrics. Full documentation and results can be found at https://spine-generic.rtfd.io/. The datasets and analysis pipeline will help pave the way towards accessible and reproducible quantitative MRI in the spinal cord.
Diffusion magnetic resonance imaging reveals tract‐specific microstructural correlates of electrophysiological impairments in non‐myelopathic and myelopathic spinal cord compression
Non‐myelopathic degenerative cervical spinal cord compression (NMDC) frequently occurs throughout aging and may progress to potentially ir… (see more)reversible degenerative cervical myelopathy (DCM). Whereas standard clinical magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and electrophysiological measures assess compression severity and neurological dysfunction, respectively, underlying microstructural deficits still have to be established in NMDC and DCM patients. The study aims to establish tract‐specific diffusion MRI markers of electrophysiological deficits to predict the progression of asymptomatic NMDC to symptomatic DCM.