Repeatability of quantitative T1rho magnetic resonance imaging in normal brain tissues at 3.0T

Purpose: T1rho imaging is a promising MRI technique for imaging of brain disease. This study aimed to assess the repeatability of quantitative T1rho imaging in the normal brain grey and white matter.Methods: The study prospectively recruited 30 healthy volunteers without a history of neurological diseases or brain injury, and T1rho was performed and quantified from three imaging sessions. Repeat measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) and within-subject coefficients of variation (wCoV) was used to detect differences in T1rho values between the three scans.Results: The results showed low wCoVs of less than 4.3% (range 0.92-4.27%) across all the brain structures. No significant differences were observed in T1rho measurement between the three scans (p > 0.05). The amygdala and hippocampus showed the highest T1rho values of 91.79 & PLUSMN; 2.55 msec and 91.07 & PLUSMN; 2.11 msec respectively, and the palladium and putamen had the lowest values of 67.60 & PLUSMN; 1.84 msec and 71.83 & PLUSMN; 1.85 msec respectively.Conclusion: T1rho shows high test-retest repeatability for whole brain imaging in serial imaging sessions, indicating it to be a reliable sequence for quantitative brain imaging.

Automated summary

This study aimed to assess the repeatability of T1rho imaging in normal brain grey and white matter. The results showed high test-retest repeatability of T1rho imaging for whole brain imaging, indicating its reliability for quantitative brain imaging.