A Quantitative Relaxation Mapping Protocol Standardized by MR Fingerprinting for Clinical Research in White Matter Hyperintensity

Motivation: Limited by inefficient and subjective diagnostics for brain white matter abnormalities, we sought to enhance clinical assessments by validating MR Fingerprinting's efficiency in quantifying these issues. Goal(s): A method of automated white matter hyperintensity (WMH) quantification (9010). Approach: Used MRF to measure T1 and T2 values in 87 patients with white matter abnormalities, comparing them with the performance of T2 FLAIR images. Results: Significant differences were observed in relaxation times between white matter inside and outside T2 FLAIR high signal areas, indicating MRF's potential for accurate quantifiable diagnosis of brain white matter abnormalities. Impact: Our study demonstrated the ability of MRF in identifying WMH. This technology could solve the high heterogeneity problem of existing image acquisition differences, make it possible to accurately evaluate automatic quantification algorithms, and promote the diagnosis or evaluation across centers.