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Gray vs. White Matter Segmentation of the Conus Medullaris: Reliability and Variability in Healthy Volunteers

Yiannakas, MC; Liechti, MD; Budtarad, N; Cullinane, P; Yang, X; Toosy, AT; Panicker, JN; (2019) Gray vs. White Matter Segmentation of the Conus Medullaris: Reliability and Variability in Healthy Volunteers. Journal of Neuroimaging , 29 (3) pp. 410-417. 10.1111/jon.12591. Green open access

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Abstract

Background and Purpose: Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) derived spinal cord (SC) grey and white matter (GM/WM) volume are useful indirect measures of atrophy and neurodegeneration over time, typically obtained in the upper SC. Neuropathological evidence suggests that in certain neurological conditions, early degeneration may occur as low as the sacral SC. In this study, the feasibility of GM/WM segmentation of the conus medullaris (CM) was assessed in vivo. Methods: 23 healthy volunteers (11 female, mean age 47 years) underwent high-resolution 3T MRI of the CM using a 3D fast field echo sequence. Reproducibility of the volume measurements was assessed in 5 subjects (2 female, 25-37 years) by one rater who repeated the analysis 3 times and also with 2 additional raters working independently in order to calculate the intra- and inter-rater coefficient of variation (COV), respectively. Furthermore, the influence of age, gender, spine and SC metrics on tissue-specific measures of the CM was investigated. Results: Volumetric CM analyses (N=23) for the SC, GM, and WM revealed a mean (SD) total volume of CM-TV = 1746.9 (296.7) mm3, CM-GM-TV = 731.2 (106.0) mm3, and CM-WM-TV = 1014.6 (211.3) mm3, respectively. The intra-rater COV for measuring the CM-TV and CM-GM-TV was 3.38% and 7.42%, respectively; the inter-rater COV was 3.43% and 10.80%, respectively. Using age, gender, spine and SC metrics in regression models substantially reduced group variability for CM-TV, CM-WM-TV and CM-GM-TV by up to 39.2%, 42.7%, and 21.2%, respectively. Conclusions: The results from this study demonstrate the feasibility of obtaining tissue-specific volume measurements in the CM by means of MRI with good reproducibility and provide normative data for future applications in neurological diseases affecting the lower SC.

Type: Article
Title: Gray vs. White Matter Segmentation of the Conus Medullaris: Reliability and Variability in Healthy Volunteers
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1111/jon.12591
Publisher version: https://doi.org/10.1111/jon.12591
Language: English
Additional information: This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions.
Keywords: Magnetic resonance imaging; grey matter; white matter; conus medullaris; cross-sectional area.
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology > Neuroinflammation
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10064370
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