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Abstract #0423

Inherent bias in multi-component DESPOT myelin water fraction estimation.

Daniel J. West1, Rui A. P. G. Teixeira1,2, Tobias Wood3, Joseph V. Hajnal1,2, Jacques-Donald Tournier1,2, and Shaihan J. Malik1,2

1Biomedical Engineering Department, School of Biomedical Engineering and Imaging Sciences, King's College London, London, United Kingdom, 2Centre for the Developing Brain, School of Biomedical Engineering and Imaging Sciences, King's College London, London, United Kingdom, 3Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, United Kingdom

mcDESPOT is a quantitative relaxometry technique that enables estimation of myelin water fraction (MWF) in a clinically feasible acquisition time with high signal-to-noise ratio efficiency. Many studies show in-vivo MWF maps with realistic grey matter-white matter contrast, which conflicts with statistical analyses suggesting that parameter estimation should be inaccurate and imprecise. We show that the parameters (including MWF) and their corresponding variance are indeed ill-conditioned, but their estimation is strongly influenced by the typically used fitting approach (stochastic region contraction). We also demonstrate that this degeneracy arises primarily from intercompartmental exchange.

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