Quantitative magnetization transfer imaging made easy with qMTLab: Software for data simulation, analysis, and visualization. (1st February 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Cabana, Jean‐François; Gu, Ye; Boudreau, Mathieu; Levesque, Ives R; Atchia, Yaaseen; Sled, John G.; Narayanan, Sridar; Arnold, Douglas L.; Pike, G. Bruce; Cohen‐Adad, Julien; Duval, Tanguy; Vuong, Manh‐Tung; Stikov, Nikola
• Is Part Of: Concepts in magnetic resonance. Volume 44A:Number 5(2015)
• Page Start: 263
• Page End: 277
• Publication Date: 2016-02-01
• Subjects: magnetization transfer -- quantitative magnetization transfer imaging -- qMTI -- software -- open‐source -- simulation -- data fitting -- two pool model -- binary spin‐bath model; Magnetic resonance -- Periodicals; Nuclear magnetic resonance -- Periodicals; 538
• DOI: 10.1002/cmr.a.21357
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1546-6086

Abstract

Abstract : Quantitative magnetization transfer imaging (qMTI) increases specificity to macromolecular content in tissue by modeling the exchange process between the liquid and the macromolecular pool. However, its use has been mostly restricted to researchers that have developed these methods, in part due to the need to write complicated in‐house software for modeling and data analysis. We have developed a software package ( qMTLab ) with a simple and easy to use graphical user interface that unifies three of the most widely used qMTI methods: MT spoiled gradient echo (MT‐SPGR), MT balanced steady‐state free precession (MT‐bSSFP), and selective inversion recovery with fast spin echo (SIR‐FSE). qMTLab is free open‐source software that allows anyone interested in using these methods to easily simulate qMTI data, compare the performance of the methods under various experimental conditions, define new acquisition protocols, fit acquired data, and visualize the fitted parameters maps. By providing free software that gives end users a simple and easy to use graphical interface, we hope to make qMTI accessible to a greater number of investigators and facilitate the development, evaluation, and optimization of acquisition protocols and models. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Concepts Magn Reson Part A, 2016.