Abstract #1158

Impact of acquisition parameters on cortical thickness and volume derived from Multi-Echo MPRAGE scans

Ross W. Mair^1,2, Martin Reuter^2,3, and Andre J. van der Kouwe²

¹Center for Brain Science, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, United States, ²A.A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, United States, ³Department of Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States

The multi-echo MPRAGE (MEMPRAGE) sequence was implemented to reduce signal distortion by acquiring at a higher bandwidth and averaging multiple echoes to recover SNR while providing additional T₂* information that can enhance cortical segmentation. A rapid 2-minute MEMPRAGE protocol has been implemented for large multi-center studies. Here, we investigate the impact on morphometric results for the cortex by systematically varying all the parameters modified between the rapid 2-minute scan and a conventional 6-minute structural scan. Small but significant differences in cortical thickness and gray matter volume result from a combination of the use of partial fourier acquisition and lowering the spatial resolution to 1.2mm.

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