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Evaluating the Reliability of Human Brain White Matter Tractometry
John Kruper1,2, Jason D Yeatman3,4, Adam Richie-Halford2
1Department of Psychology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA.
Aperture Neuro
|January 26, 2022
Summary
Diffusion-weighted MRI (dMRI) tractometry for analyzing brain white matter connections is reliable. This study confirms high test-retest reliability and robustness, ensuring trustworthy neuroimaging analysis.
Area of Science:
- Neuroimaging
- Computational Neuroscience
- Biomedical Engineering
Background:
- Research validity hinges on reliable analysis methods.
- Concerns exist regarding the reliability of diffusion-weighted MRI (dMRI) analysis for in vivo human brain white matter connections.
Purpose of the Study:
- To define and assess three dimensions of reliability (reproducibility, test-retest reliability, robustness) in dMRI-based tractometry.
- To provide open-source software for automated tractometry to enhance reproducibility.
Main Methods:
- Assessed reproducibility, test-retest reliability, and robustness of dMRI tractometry.
- Utilized measurements from the Human Connectome Project and clinical-grade data.
- Developed and provided open-source software (pyAFQ) for automated tractometry.
Main Results:
- Tractometry demonstrated high test-retest reliability, comparable to standardized clinical assessments.
- Tractometry exhibited robustness, maintaining high reliability across different analysis algorithms.
- The provided software facilitates reproducible tractometry analysis.
Conclusions:
- dMRI-based tractometry is a reliable method for analyzing white matter connections.
- The study validates the trustworthiness of tractometry analysis.
- Researchers can establish the reliability of neuroimaging computational pipelines using the outlined approach.
