Accelerated susceptibility MRI shows broad measurement agreement in memory-clinic patients
Published in Brain/Neurology, Journals, Scanners and Imaging, Tools.
Published October 31, 2026.
An accelerated MRI protocol produced broadly comparable quantitative susceptibility maps in 36 memory-clinic patients, according to research published today in Scientific Reports.
Quantitative susceptibility mapping, or QSM, measures magnetic properties influenced by iron and other tissue constituents. The researchers compared a standard SENSE acquisition with a faster CS-SENSE protocol during 3-tesla brain imaging.
Rather than relying only on a lack of statistically significant differences, the study tested equivalence within a predefined margin of ±0.025 parts per million. Most combinations of brain region and measurement met that criterion. Weighted susceptibility measurements in the pallidum and putamen were exceptions.
Agreement, image similarity and interscan variability were generally favorable, and sensitivity analyses using alternative processing approaches supported the main results.
The study evaluates measurement reliability, not diagnostic accuracy for Alzheimer’s disease. Its small clinical sample and region-specific exceptions mean that broader validation remains necessary before assuming that every measurement or scanner protocol is interchangeable.
Source: Di Nardo, F., Iandolo, R., Cavaliere, C. et al., Scientific Reports, October 31, 2026. Read the original study.