Academic Journal

An improved combination of T1-weighted and FLAIR contrasts for myelin water imaging.

Λεπτομέρειες βιβλιογραφικής εγγραφής
Τίτλος: An improved combination of T1-weighted and FLAIR contrasts for myelin water imaging.
Συγγραφείς: Drenthen GS; Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Maastricht University Medical Center+, Maastricht, the Netherlands; Mental Health and Neuroscience (MHeNs) Research Institute, Maastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherlands. Electronic address: g.drenthen@maastrichtuniversity.nl., Backes WH; Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Maastricht University Medical Center+, Maastricht, the Netherlands; Mental Health and Neuroscience (MHeNs) Research Institute, Maastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherlands., Staals J; Department of Neurology, Maastricht University Medical Center+, Maastricht, the Netherlands; Cardiovascular Research Institute Maastricht (CARIM), Maastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherlands., van Dinther M; Department of Neurology, Maastricht University Medical Center+, Maastricht, the Netherlands; Cardiovascular Research Institute Maastricht (CARIM), Maastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherlands., Voorter PHM; Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Maastricht University Medical Center+, Maastricht, the Netherlands; Mental Health and Neuroscience (MHeNs) Research Institute, Maastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherlands., Lee J; Laboratory for Imaging Science and Technology, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Seoul National University, Seoul, South Korea., Köhler S; Mental Health and Neuroscience (MHeNs) Research Institute, Maastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherlands; Department of Psychiatry and Neuropsychology, Maastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherlands; Alzheimer Center Limburg, Maastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherlands., Jansen WJ; Mental Health and Neuroscience (MHeNs) Research Institute, Maastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherlands; Department of Psychiatry and Neuropsychology, Maastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherlands; Alzheimer Center Limburg, Maastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherlands., Jansen JFA; Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Maastricht University Medical Center+, Maastricht, the Netherlands; Mental Health and Neuroscience (MHeNs) Research Institute, Maastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherlands; Department of Electrical Engineering, Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven, the Netherlands.
Πηγή: NeuroImage [Neuroimage] 2026 Oct 01; Vol. 339, pp. 122182. Date of Electronic Publication: 2026 Aug 25.
Τύπος έκδοσης: Journal Article
Γλώσσα: English
Στοιχεία περιοδικού: Publisher: Academic Press Country of Publication: United States NLM ID: 9215515 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1095-9572 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 10538119 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Neuroimage Subsets: MEDLINE
Imprint Name(s): Original Publication: Orlando, FL : Academic Press, c1992-
Ιατρικοί όροι (MeSH): Magnetic Resonance Imaging*/methods , Magnetic Resonance Imaging*/standards , White Matter*/diagnostic imaging , Brain*/diagnostic imaging , Neuroimaging*/methods , Neuroimaging*/standards , Myelin Sheath*, Image Processing, Computer-Assisted/methods ; Humans ; Female ; Male ; Adult ; Middle Aged ; Aged ; Young Adult ; Adolescent
Περίληψη: In vivo myelin imaging often requires long and dedicated MRI scanning techniques. Combining conventional T1-weighted and FLAIR images into the T1w/FLAIR-ratio has been proposed as a myelin-sensitive proxy, however its sensitivity is debated. In this study, we explore the sensitivity to the myelin content of an improved combination of T1w and FLAIR contrasts. A training dataset (N = 23) with reference standard myelin water fraction (MWF) values was used to fit both the T1w and FLAIR contrasts to the MWF using a second order polynomial surface fitting method. This combination was evaluated in an independent dataset (N = 30) with reference MWF values relative to the T1w/FLAIR-ratio by partial correlation analysis adjusting for age and sex. Moreover, the performance of the improved combination was demonstrated in a population-based dataset (N = 4652) by assessing its relation with age. The polynomial fit showed a 27% increase in correlation strength with the MWF compared to the standard T1w/FLAIR-ratio (r = .72 vs. r = .56, p < .01) in the white matter. In the external validation set the polynomial fit also increased the correlation strength compared to the T1w/FLAIR-ratio (r=.64 vs. r = .51, p = .07). Furthermore, in the large population-based dataset, the polynomial fit explained 9.5% more variance in a model with age and age squared, compared to the T1w/FLAIR ratio (R2 = .48 vs. R2 = .43, p < .001). A second-order polynomial combination of T1w and FLAIR images provides an empirically optimized marker with stronger associations with the reference MWF compared to the conventional T1w/FLAIR-ratio, without dedicated time-consuming imaging.
(Copyright © 2026 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)
Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
Contributed Indexing: Keywords: Myelin-sensitive proxy; Polynomial fitting; T1/T2; T1w/FLAIR-ratio
Entry Date(s): Date Created: 20260825 Date Completed: 20260911 Latest Revision: 20260911
Update Code: 20260912
DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2026.122182
PMID: 42641773
Βάση Δεδομένων: MEDLINE