1H-MRS VERI: The Proton Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy Validation Effort Resource Initiative

Motivation: Many details of in vivo proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H MRS) data analysis still lack evidence-based standards. Goal(s): The 1H-MRS Validation Effort Resource Initiative (1H-MRS VERI) is a public repository for sharing spectral datasets useful for formulating such standards. Approach: 1H-MRS VERI data sets include measurements from phantoms (VERIph), spectral simulations of predefined metabolite scaling, including simulated and/or measured in-vivo-like nuisance signals (VERIsim), and 1H-MRS acquisitions from human or other tissues colocalized with supporting measurements from non-1H-MRS experiments (VERIvivo). Results: 1H-MRS VERI facilitates field-wide efforts toward accurate and precise in vivo 1H-MRS quantification via transparent, replicable investigation of shared empirical standards. Impact: 1H-MRS research marches on, largely uninformed by commonly accepted evidence-based guidelines for many data analysis details from denoising methods to baseline definitions. 1H-MRS VERI provides a curated collection of data standards to facilitate the shared development of these still-needed guidelines.