Feasibility of quantitative measurement of brain iron by Brainnetome Atlas based on magnetic susceptibility mapping / 中国医学影像技术

ABSTRACT

Objective: To explore the feasibility of quantitative measurement of cerebral iron using brain network atlas based on quantitative susceptibility mapping (QSM). Methods QSM images of 43 right-handed healthy adult volunteers were registered, which were smoothed and mapped to the standard brain using Matlab software. ROI of bilateral globus pallidus, putamen, caudate nucleus, hippocampus, thalamus, frontal cortex, parietal cortex and occipital cortex were selected from Brainnetome Atlas. The magnetic susceptibility was measured using Matlab software, and ROI of the above areas were manually sketched and measured. The correlation of the magnetic susceptibility values measured with the above 2 methods and the iron concentration results obtained from brain tissue staining of autopsy were analyzed, and the correlation between the magnetic susceptibility values and age were analyzed. Results: The highest measurement value of brain magnetic susceptibility values from Matlab and manually drawn ROI were all found in globus pallidus, then in the putamen, and the lowest was in hippocampus. The brain magnetic susceptibility values measured with Matlab and manual ROI were all highly consistent with autopsy results (r=0.920, P=0.003; r=0.856, P=0.014). The magnetic susceptibility values of male at frontal cortex measured from Matlab ROI was higher than that of female (P0.05), nor between left and right hemispheres brain regions measured with 2 methods (all P>0.05). Conclusion: Quantitative measurement of cerebral iron based on QSM imaging and Brainnetome Atlas has high accuracy and feasibility. The content of brain iron tends to increase with aging. The magnetic susceptibility values of frontal cortex have sex differences.