Adolf Pfefferbaum1, 2, Torsten Rohlfing1, Margaret J. Rosenbloom1, 2, Edith V. Sullivan2
1Neuroscience Program, SRI International, Menlo Park, CA, United States; 2Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, United States
To determine whether structural T1-weighted data acquired across MR field strengths could be merged, archival SPGR data acquired at 1.5T and 3.0T within 3 weeks in 114 adults were compared using intraclass correlation (ICC) computed on 24 cortical, subcortical, and CSF-filled volumes derived from an automated, unsupervised atlas registration/parcellation method. Application of regression correction functions for each region yielded significant ICC increases (mean improvement=.087; post-correction ICC range=.599 in globus pallidus to .998 in lateral ventricles). Thus, selected T1-weighted regional anatomical brain data can be reliably combined across 1.5T and 3.0T field strengths with the application of an appropriate correction procedure.
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