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ExploreASL: an image processing pipeline for multi-center ASL perfusion MRI studies

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Version 2 2023-06-12, 09:37
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journal contribution
posted on 2023-06-12, 09:37 authored by Henk J M M Mutsaerts, Jan Petr, Paul Groot, Pieter Vandemaele, Silvia Ingala, Andrew D Robertson, Lena Václavu, Inge Groote, Hugo Kuijf, Fernando Zelaya, Owen O'Daly, Saima Hilal, Alle Meije Wink, Ilse Kant, Iris AsllaniIris Asllani, others
Arterial spin labeling (ASL) has undergone significant development since its inception, with a focus on improving standardization and reproducibility of its acquisition and quantification. In a community-wide effort towards robust and reproducible clinical ASL image processing, we developed the software package ExploreASL, allowing standardized analyses across centers and scanners. The procedures used in ExploreASL capitalize on published image processing advancements and address the challenges of multi-center datasets with scanner-specific processing and artifact reduction to limit patient exclusion. ExploreASL is self-contained, written in MATLAB and based on Statistical Parameter Mapping (SPM) and runs on multiple operating systems. To facilitate collaboration and data-exchange, the toolbox follows several standards and recommendations for data structure, provenance, and best analysis practice. ExploreASL was iteratively refined and tested in the analysis of >10,000 ASL scans using different pulse-sequences in a variety of clinical populations, resulting in four processing modules: Import, Structural, ASL, and Population that perform tasks, respectively, for data curation, structural and ASL image processing and quality control, and finally preparing the results for statistical analyses on both single-subject and group level. We illustrate ExploreASL processing results from three cohorts: perinatally HIV-infected children, healthy adults, and elderly at risk for neurodegenerative disease. We show the reproducibility for each cohort when processed at different centers with different operating systems and MATLAB versions, and its effects on the quantification of gray matter cerebral blood flow. ExploreASL facilitates the standardization of image processing and quality control, allowing the pooling of cohorts which may increase statistical power and discover between-group perfusion differences. Ultimately, this workflow may advance ASL for wider adoption in clinical studies, trials, and practice.

History

Publication status

  • Published

File Version

  • Published version

Journal

NeuroImage

ISSN

1053-8119

Publisher

Elsevier

Volume

219

Page range

1-17

Article number

a117031

Event location

United States

Department affiliated with

  • BSMS Neuroscience Publications

Full text available

  • Yes

Peer reviewed?

  • Yes

Legacy Posted Date

2020-12-02

First Open Access (FOA) Date

2020-12-02

First Compliant Deposit (FCD) Date

2020-12-01

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