The Effect of Single-Scan and Scan-Pair Intensity Inhomogeneity Correction Methods on Repeatability of Voxel-Based Morphometry With Multiple Magnetic Resonance Scanners

Objective The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of single-scan and scan-pair intensity inhomogeneity correction methods on the repeatability of voxel-based morphometry (VBM) using images acquired with multiple magnetic resonance (MR) scanners. Methods Three-dimensional T1-weighed MR images of the brain were obtained from 22 healthy participants using each of 5 MR scanners, yielding 110 images (5 scanners x 22 subjects) in total. Six patterns of intensity inhomogeneity corrections (no correction, single-scan corrections, and scan-pair correction, and their combinations) were applied in the VBM procedure to investigate the effect of the corrections on the repeatability of gray and white matter volume measurements. Results Single-scan and scan-pair intensity inhomogeneity corrections significantly reduced the variance in spatially normalized gray and white matter volumes. However, combining the 2 methods did not significantly improve the repeatability when evaluated as whole brain. Conclusions Single-scan and scan-pair intensity inhomogeneity corrections improved the repeatability of gray and white matter volumes obtained by multiple MR scanners and assessed by VBM.