Evaluation of Reproducibility of Brain Volumetry between Commercial Software, Inbrain and Established Research...

Area of Science:

• Neuroimaging
• Medical Software
• Brain Anatomy

Background:

• Assessing intermethod reproducibility is crucial for reliable neuroimaging analysis.
• Commercial software like Inbrain (MIDAS IT) requires validation against established research methods such as FreeSurfer.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the intermethod reproducibility between Inbrain and FreeSurfer for brain volumetric measurements.
• To investigate the influence of MRI resolution and subject pathology on this reproducibility.

Main Methods:

• Compared volumetric data from 45 healthy volunteers and 85 mild cognitive impairment (MCI) patients.
• Utilized T1-weighted MRI data acquired at 1.0 mm and 1.2 mm in-plane resolutions.
• Calculated within-subject coefficient of variation (CoV) and intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC).

Main Results:

• Excellent overall reproducibility (CoV: 0.5-3.9, ICC: 0.93 to >0.99) between Inbrain and FreeSurfer.
• Intermethod reliability was good in specific regions for healthy volunteers.
• Higher reproducibility was observed with 1.0 mm resolution compared to 1.2 mm resolution.

Conclusions:

• Inbrain and FreeSurfer exhibit good-to-excellent intermethod reproducibility for brain volumetry.
• Subject condition, image resolution, and specific brain regions introduce variability.
• These findings are essential for accurate interpretation of neuroimaging studies.