Towards Establishing Comparability in Scanner Stability Measurements for Quality Assurance

Motivation: Functional MRI studies aim to detect subtle BOLD signal changes, necessitating regular monitoring to ensure that the scanner maintains a relatively low intrinsic temporal-signal-fluctuation level. Comparable quality assurance (QA) protocols across scanners and sites are critical for pooling fMRI data to enhance statistical power. Goal(s): To establish comparability in scanner stability measurements for QA. Approach: This study examines four factors influencing scanner stability measurements: phantoms, sequences, reconstruction, and warm-up procedures. Results: Harmonizing phantoms, sequences, and reconstruction, along with allowing reasonable warm-up time, is crucial for establishing comparability in scanner stability measurements. Impact: This work underscores the importance of controlling various factors in scanner stability measurements to ensure comparability for quality assurance, particularly in longitudinal, cross-vendor, multi-center fMRI studies. Furthermore, we provide practical recommendations for establishing standardized quality assurance protocols.