Which to Choose for Volumetry: MPRAGE or SPACE?

Tomohisa Okada¹, Mitsunori Kanagaki¹, Akira Yamamoto¹, Ryo Sakamoto¹, Seiko Kasahara¹, Emiko Morimoto¹, Mami Iima¹, Taha M. Mehemed¹, Satoshi Nakajima¹, Kaori Togashi¹

T1-weighted 3D variable flip angle turbo spin-echo sequence called, SPACE, is gradually accepted as an alternative to MPRAGE. However, which is more suitable, if any, to brain volumetry is yet to be clarified. Therefore, we conducted a comparative study of the two sequences to investigate reproducibility of volumetric measurements of gray matter (GM) and any difference in segmented GM volumes in 10 healthy subjects. MPRAGE was superior to SPACE and such region was wide-spread. Probable reasons for the difference was discussed. SPACE may not be a substitute of MPRAGE for the purpose of cortical volumetry.