In a large multi-center study where many groups collaborate to produce data, the conditions under which the data are collected can vary significantly. In the case of the NIH funded MRI study of normal brain development (NIHPD), 6 centers across the US collect MRI scans of the developing child brain. In all, four different models of scanners from 2 manufacturers are used. The subject of this thesis is to quantify differences in acquired data that are due to scanner differences and thus enable improved biological study. / The aim of this study is to analyze the scanner-induced differences across sites using a specialized phantom recommended by the American College of Radiology (ACR). Together with the 7 tests listed by the ACR MRI accreditation manual, phantom data from each site can be analyzed for parameters that are characteristic of image quality. The measurements are done automatically using programs written at the MNI, that use MINC tools and the MNI autoreg package to compute the necessary parameters. / The results demonstrate that, in general, all data obtained complied with the 7 tests of the ACR MRI manual. Statistically significant variations over time and between sites were found in the data. However, the magnitude of the variations is of the order of 1%-2% indicating stable data acquisitions and comparability of data between sites.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.101124 |
| Date | January 2006 |
| Creators | Fu, Luke. |
| Publisher | McGill University |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Coverage | Master of Science (Department of Medical Radiation Physics.) |
| Rights | © Luke Fu, 2006 |
| Relation | alephsysno: 002587394, proquestno: AAIMR32703, Theses scanned by UMI/ProQuest. |
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