Comparison of Automated Brain Volume Measures by NeuroQuant vs. Freesurfer in Patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment: Effect of Slice Thickness

Abstract

Purpose This study aimed to examine the inter-method reliability and volumetric differences between NeuroQuant (NQ) and Freesurfer (FS) using T1 volume imaging sequence with different slice thicknesses in patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Materials and Methods This retrospective study enrolled 80 patients diagnosed with MCI at our memory clinic. NQ and FS were used for volumetric analysis of three-dimensional T1-weighted images with slice thickness of 1 and 1.2 mm. Inter-method reliability was measured with Pearson correlation coefficient (r), intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), and effect size (ES). Results Overall, NQ volumes were larger than FS volumes in several locations: whole brain (0.78%), cortical gray matter (5.34%), and white matter (2.68%). Volume measures by NQ and FS showed good-to-excellent ICCs with both 1 and 1.2 mm slice thickness (ICC=0.75–0.97, ES=−1.0–0.73 vs. ICC=0.78–0.96, ES=−0.9–0.77, respectively), except for putamen, pallidum, thalamus, and total intracranial volumes. The ICCs in all locations, except the putamen and cerebellum, were slightly higher with a slice thickness of 1 mm compared to those of 1.2 mm. Conclusion Inter-method reliability between NQ and FS was good-to-excellent in most regions with improvement with a 1-mm slice thickness. This finding indicates that the potential effects of slice thickness should be considered when performing volumetric measurements for cognitive impairment.

Technical and clinical validation of commercial automated volumetric MRI tools for dementia diagnosis—a systematic review

“…Automated segmentations have been both manually checked and compared to manual segmentations [ 44 , 45 , 47 , 52 , 55 ], FreeSurfer [ 46 , 50 – 52 , 56 , 57 ], FSL-FIRST [ 47 , 53 ], SIENAX [ 48 ] and other FDA/CE-marked tools: MSmetrix [ 48 ]. One study also assessed the difference in results following a version update [ 49 ].…”

Association Between Visceral Fat and Brain Cortical Thickness in the Elderly: A Neuroimaging Study

“…Last, we included dementia-free individuals based on self-reported information, and this approach might not have captured variation in cognitive health (including subthreshold cognitive impairment). Besides, the MMSE may not be sensitive to mild cognitive impairment ( Mitchell, 2009 ; Yim et al, 2021 ). Future studies are warranted to assess cognitive health with sufficient granularity to elucidate fat-related cortical thinning.…”

Automated Brain Volumetry in Patients With Memory Impairment: Comparison of Conventional and Ultrafast 3D T1-Weighted MRI Sequences Using Two Software Packages

“…On the other hand, advantages of FreeSurfer include the ability for the radiologist to manually edit any errors detected in automated ROIs and to perform additional volumetric analyses through further manual segmentation of the ROI. In previous studies, certain volume measurements were significantly different between the two methods, as NeuroQuant provided greater intracranial volumes as well as greater volumes for larger structures such as the forebrain parenchyma, lateral ventricles, and cerebellum [11][12][13].…”

“…Volumetry is increasingly performed using software, including NeuroQuant, which is FDA-approved and commercially available, and FreeSurfer, which is freely available and commonly used in research settings. Several studies have compared these two software programs [11][12][13]. Advantages of NeuroQuant include shorter total processing time and user-friendly workflow, including direct interaction with the PACS server.…”

“…imaging [2,6,[14][15][16]. One technique, compressed sensing, yields systematic bias in brain volumetry measurements proportional to the compressed sensing factor [13]. Wave-Controlled Aliasing in Parallel Imaging (Wave-CAIPI; Siemens Healthineers) is an additional accelerated technique that yields automated volume measurements comparable to those of standard MP-RAGE…”