MRS-Sim: Open-Source Framework for Simulating In Vivo-like Magnetic Resonance Spectra

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Medical Imaging
• Spectroscopy

Background:

• Realistic synthetic data is crucial for developing and validating magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) methods.
• Current protocols for MRS data simulation lack consistency, hindering research reproducibility.
• Open-source tools are needed to generate in vivo-like MRS data with known ground truth.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce MRS-Sim, a novel open-source framework for simulating realistic, in vivo-like magnetic resonance spectroscopy data.
• To provide a modular and customizable platform for generating complex MRS data scenarios.
• To support the development, validation, and reproducibility of MRS research and deep learning applications.

Main Methods:

• MRS-Sim simulates MRS data using physical equations, including standard spectral components and novel simulators for B0 field inhomogeneity and residual water/baseline signals.
• The framework supports simulation of various data types, from raw multi-coil transients to processed multi-average data.
• Includes tools to analyze in vivo data fitting parameters (e.g., from Osprey) for tailored simulation parameter ranges and distributions.

Main Results:

• MRS-Sim generates realistic, in vivo-like synthetic MRS datasets with known ground truth values.
• The framework's modularity allows for customization to various in vivo scenarios and facilitates community development.
• Simulated data supports tasks like spectral fitting protocol verification, reproducibility analyses, and deep learning model training.

Conclusions:

• MRS-Sim addresses the need for consistent and realistic synthetic MRS data, promoting reproducibility across diverse research applications.
• The framework enhances the accessibility of MRS research, particularly for deep learning applications with limited in vivo data.
• MRS-Sim fosters community development and standardization in magnetic resonance spectroscopy data simulation.