High quality brain segmentation from synthetic MPRAGE images at 7T MRI

Motivation: Brain segmentation and multiparameter mapping (MPM) are important for neurodegenerative disease characterization. Acquiring sub-millimeter images increases scan time and patient discomfort. At 7T, B1+ inhomogeneities challenge brain segmentation. Goal(s): The quality of brain segmentations produced from FastSurferVINN was evaluated and compared between a 7T MPRAGE protocol and two synthetic MPRAGE approaches. Approach: MPRAGE and MPM images were acquired on 16 subjects across three 7T sites using pTx pulses. MPRAGElike and synMPRAGE images were generated from MPM. All images were segmented with FastSurferVINN. Results: FastSurferVINN seems to be a robust technique to segment sub-millimeter 7T images. MPRAGElike generated superior segmentations compared to synMPRAGE. Impact: Neuroscientists with Multi-Parameter Mapping sequences in their imaging protocol can approximate an MPRAGElike image (preferably over synthetic synMPRAGE). Acquiring an MPRAGE sequence solely for brain segmentation can be avoided resulting in a considerable amount of scan time saved.