View in EDS HTML Full Text PDF Full Text

Site effects in multisite fetal brain MRI: morphological insights into early brain development.

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Title: Site effects in multisite fetal brain MRI: morphological insights into early brain development.
Authors: Xu, Xinyi1 (AUTHOR), Sun, Cong2 (AUTHOR), Yu, Hong3 (AUTHOR), Yan, Guohui4 (AUTHOR), Zhu, Qingqing5 (AUTHOR), Kong, Xianglei5 (AUTHOR), Pan, Yibin6,7 (AUTHOR), Xu, Haoan1 (AUTHOR), Zheng, Tianshu1 (AUTHOR), Zhou, Chi1 (AUTHOR), Wang, Yutian1 (AUTHOR), Xiao, Jiaxin1,8 (AUTHOR), Chen, Ruike1 (AUTHOR), Li, Mingyang1 (AUTHOR), Zhang, Songying6,7 (AUTHOR), Hu, Hongjie5 (AUTHOR) hongjiehu@zju.edu.cn, Zou, Yu4 (AUTHOR) zouyuzju@zju.edu.cn, Wang, Jingshi3 (AUTHOR) 744069443@qq.com, Wang, Guangbin9 (AUTHOR) wgb7932596@hotmail.com, Wu, Dan1 (AUTHOR) danwu.bme@zju.edu.cn
Source: European Radiology. Apr2025, Vol. 35 Issue 4, p1830-1842. 13p.
Subjects: Fetal MRI, Fetal brain, Fetal development, Fetal imaging, Data harmonization
Abstract: Objective: To evaluate multisite effects on fetal brain MRI. Specifically, to identify crucial acquisition factors affecting fetal brain structural measurements and developmental patterns, while assessing the effectiveness of existing harmonization methods in mitigating site effects. Materials and methods: Between May 2017 and March 2022, T2-weighted fast spin-echo sequences in-utero MRI were performed on healthy fetuses from retrospectively recruited pregnant volunteers on four different scanners at four sites. A generalized additive model (GAM) was used to quantitatively assess site effects, including field strength (FS), manufacturer (M), in-plane resolution (R), and slice thickness (ST), on subcortical volume and cortical morphological measurements, including cortical thickness, curvature, and sulcal depth. Growth models were selected to elucidate the developmental trajectories of these morphological measurements. Welch's test was performed to evaluate the influence of site effects on developmental trajectories. The comBat-GAM harmonization method was applied to mitigate site-related biases. Results: The final analytic sample consisted of 340 MRI scans from 218 fetuses (mean GA, 30.1 weeks ± 4.4 [range, 21.7–40 weeks]). GAM results showed that lower FS and lower spatial resolution led to overestimations in selected brain regions of subcortical volumes and cortical morphological measurements. Only the peak cortical thickness in developmental trajectories was significantly influenced by the effects of FS and R. Notably, ComBat-GAM harmonization effectively removed site effects while preserving developmental patterns. Conclusion: Our findings pinpointed the key acquisition factors in in-utero fetal brain MRI and underscored the necessity of data harmonization when pooling multisite data for fetal brain morphology investigations. Key Points: QuestionHow do specific site MRI acquisition factors affect fetal brain imaging? FindingLower FS and spatial resolution overestimated subcortical volumes and cortical measurements. Cortical thickness in developmental trajectories was influenced by FS and in-plane resolution. Clinical relevanceThis study provides important guidelines for the fetal MRI community when scanning fetal brains and underscores the necessity of data harmonization of cross-center fetal studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of European Radiology is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: Engineering Source
Full text is not displayed to guests.
FullText Links:
  – Type: pdflink
Text:
  Availability: 1
Header DbId: egs
DbLabel: Engineering Source
An: 183753073
AccessLevel: 6
PubType: Academic Journal
PubTypeId: academicJournal
PreciseRelevancyScore: 0
IllustrationInfo
Items – Name: Title
  Label: Title
  Group: Ti
  Data: Site effects in multisite fetal brain MRI: morphological insights into early brain development.
– Name: Author
  Label: Authors
  Group: Au
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Xu%2C+Xinyi%22">Xu, Xinyi</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Sun%2C+Cong%22">Sun, Cong</searchLink><relatesTo>2</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Yu%2C+Hong%22">Yu, Hong</searchLink><relatesTo>3</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Yan%2C+Guohui%22">Yan, Guohui</searchLink><relatesTo>4</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Zhu%2C+Qingqing%22">Zhu, Qingqing</searchLink><relatesTo>5</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Kong%2C+Xianglei%22">Kong, Xianglei</searchLink><relatesTo>5</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Pan%2C+Yibin%22">Pan, Yibin</searchLink><relatesTo>6,7</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Xu%2C+Haoan%22">Xu, Haoan</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Zheng%2C+Tianshu%22">Zheng, Tianshu</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Zhou%2C+Chi%22">Zhou, Chi</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Wang%2C+Yutian%22">Wang, Yutian</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Xiao%2C+Jiaxin%22">Xiao, Jiaxin</searchLink><relatesTo>1,8</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Chen%2C+Ruike%22">Chen, Ruike</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Li%2C+Mingyang%22">Li, Mingyang</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Zhang%2C+Songying%22">Zhang, Songying</searchLink><relatesTo>6,7</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Hu%2C+Hongjie%22">Hu, Hongjie</searchLink><relatesTo>5</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> hongjiehu@zju.edu.cn</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Zou%2C+Yu%22">Zou, Yu</searchLink><relatesTo>4</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> zouyuzju@zju.edu.cn</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Wang%2C+Jingshi%22">Wang, Jingshi</searchLink><relatesTo>3</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> 744069443@qq.com</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Wang%2C+Guangbin%22">Wang, Guangbin</searchLink><relatesTo>9</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> wgb7932596@hotmail.com</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Wu%2C+Dan%22">Wu, Dan</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> danwu.bme@zju.edu.cn</i>
– Name: TitleSource
  Label: Source
  Group: Src
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22European+Radiology%22">European Radiology</searchLink>. Apr2025, Vol. 35 Issue 4, p1830-1842. 13p.
– Name: Subject
  Label: Subjects
  Group: Su
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Fetal+MRI%22">Fetal MRI</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Fetal+brain%22">Fetal brain</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Fetal+development%22">Fetal development</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Fetal+imaging%22">Fetal imaging</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Data+harmonization%22">Data harmonization</searchLink>
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: Objective: To evaluate multisite effects on fetal brain MRI. Specifically, to identify crucial acquisition factors affecting fetal brain structural measurements and developmental patterns, while assessing the effectiveness of existing harmonization methods in mitigating site effects. Materials and methods: Between May 2017 and March 2022, T2-weighted fast spin-echo sequences in-utero MRI were performed on healthy fetuses from retrospectively recruited pregnant volunteers on four different scanners at four sites. A generalized additive model (GAM) was used to quantitatively assess site effects, including field strength (FS), manufacturer (M), in-plane resolution (R), and slice thickness (ST), on subcortical volume and cortical morphological measurements, including cortical thickness, curvature, and sulcal depth. Growth models were selected to elucidate the developmental trajectories of these morphological measurements. Welch's test was performed to evaluate the influence of site effects on developmental trajectories. The comBat-GAM harmonization method was applied to mitigate site-related biases. Results: The final analytic sample consisted of 340 MRI scans from 218 fetuses (mean GA, 30.1 weeks ± 4.4 [range, 21.7–40 weeks]). GAM results showed that lower FS and lower spatial resolution led to overestimations in selected brain regions of subcortical volumes and cortical morphological measurements. Only the peak cortical thickness in developmental trajectories was significantly influenced by the effects of FS and R. Notably, ComBat-GAM harmonization effectively removed site effects while preserving developmental patterns. Conclusion: Our findings pinpointed the key acquisition factors in in-utero fetal brain MRI and underscored the necessity of data harmonization when pooling multisite data for fetal brain morphology investigations. Key Points: QuestionHow do specific site MRI acquisition factors affect fetal brain imaging? FindingLower FS and spatial resolution overestimated subcortical volumes and cortical measurements. Cortical thickness in developmental trajectories was influenced by FS and in-plane resolution. Clinical relevanceThis study provides important guidelines for the fetal MRI community when scanning fetal brains and underscores the necessity of data harmonization of cross-center fetal studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
– Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright
  Label:
  Group: Ab
  Data: <i>Copyright of European Radiology is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
PLink https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=egs&AN=183753073
RecordInfo BibRecord:
  BibEntity:
    Identifiers:
      – Type: doi
        Value: 10.1007/s00330-024-11084-w
    Languages:
      – Code: eng
        Text: English
    PhysicalDescription:
      Pagination:
        PageCount: 13
        StartPage: 1830
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Fetal MRI
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Fetal brain
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Fetal development
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Fetal imaging
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Data harmonization
        Type: general
    Titles:
      – TitleFull: Site effects in multisite fetal brain MRI: morphological insights into early brain development.
        Type: main
  BibRelationships:
    HasContributorRelationships:
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Xu, Xinyi
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Sun, Cong
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Yu, Hong
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Yan, Guohui
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Zhu, Qingqing
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Kong, Xianglei
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Pan, Yibin
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Xu, Haoan
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Zheng, Tianshu
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Zhou, Chi
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Wang, Yutian
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Xiao, Jiaxin
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Chen, Ruike
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Li, Mingyang
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Zhang, Songying
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Hu, Hongjie
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Zou, Yu
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Wang, Jingshi
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Wang, Guangbin
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Wu, Dan
    IsPartOfRelationships:
      – BibEntity:
          Dates:
            – D: 01
              M: 04
              Text: Apr2025
              Type: published
              Y: 2025
          Identifiers:
            – Type: issn-print
              Value: 09387994
          Numbering:
            – Type: volume
              Value: 35
            – Type: issue
              Value: 4
          Titles:
            – TitleFull: European Radiology
              Type: main
ResultId 1