Brain atrophy measurement over a MRI scanner change in multiple sclerosis

BACKGROUND: A change in MRI hardware impacts brain volume measurements. The aim of this study was to use MRI data from multiple sclerosis (MS) patients and healthy control subjects (HCs) to statistically model how to adjust brain atrophy measures in MS patients after a major scanner upgrade. METHODS: We scanned 20 MS patients and 26 HCs before and three months after a major scanner upgrade (1.5 T Siemens Healthineers Magnetom Avanto to 3 T Siemens Healthineers Skyra Fit). The patient group also underwent standardized serial MRIs before and after the scanner change. Percentage whole brain volume changes (PBVC) measured by Structural Image Evaluation using Normalization of Atrophy (SIENA) in the HCs was used to estimate a corrective term based on a linear model. The factor was internally validated in HCs, and then applied to the MS group. RESULTS: Mean PBVC during the scanner change was higher in MS than HCs (-4.1 ± 0.8 % versus −3.4 ± 0.6 %). A fixed corrective term of 3.4 (95% confidence interval: 3.13–3.67)% was estimated based on the observed average changes in HCs. Age and gender did not have a significant influence on this corrective term. After adjustment, a linear mixed effects model showed that the brain atrophy measures in MS during the scanner upgrade were not anymore associated with the scanner type (old vs new scanner; p = 0.29). CONCLUSION: A scanner change affects brain atrophy measures in longitudinal cohorts. The inclusion of a corrective term based on changes observed in HCs helps to adjust for the known and unknown factors associated with a scanner upgrade on a group level.