0-TESTO COMPLETO.pdf - Fondazione Santa Lucia

RF07.39.2 – Diagnosis of incipient Alzheimer disease: development of ADNI-based imaging…
U.O. 2 – Neuroradiologia
Umberto Sabatini
Specific contribution of the unit to the project
The Unit 2 participates to the project in the WP1 workpackage relative to
RM. The qualification phase will consist in the installation of the ADNI MP-
RAGE sequences and in testing our scanner. The installation of the sequence
and the testing procedure will be performed by local technical personnel, in
contact with the Unit 1.
The MR 3D protocol will be acquired using the Siemens Allegra MR Scanner
operating at 3T. The contrast-to-noise ratio of the 3T scanner, twice as
better as that of 1.5 T, might significantly enhance the accuracy of the mapping
of regional hippocampal volume changes.
The Unit 2 will participate as b tester of MR SOPs. The tracers of b test
centre will trace each patient coming to observation of for cognitive disturbances
for 1 year without re-qualification (months 13-24).
The recruitment of patients at the Unit IRCCS Santa Lucia will follow the
SOPs as defined in the project.
In addition to the manual segmentation of amygdala, hippocampus, and
enthorinal cortex, as described in the main project, MR images at the Unit
IRCCS Santa Lucia will be analysed using a novel, automated model-based
segmentation tool. In this novel approach, the structures of interest mentioned
above are parameterized as surface meshes and modelled as a point
distribution model. Deformable surfaces are used to fit perfectly around the
anatomical structures. Shape is then expressed as a mean with modes of variation
(principal components), obtaining for each subject the most probable
shape instance given the observed intensities in our T1 image.
The results of the automatic segmentation of amygdala, hippocampus,
and enthorinal cortex will be compared with the results of the manual segmentation
and with those coming from the other units.
Methods
Quality assurance/quality control (M6-24).
1. Scanner qualification: installation and testing of the ADNI MP-RAGE
sequences will take place on the 3T Siemens Allegra scanner of the U.O.2 Fondazione
Santa Lucia.
2. The tracers of b test centres will trace each patient coming to observation
of for cognitive disturbances for 1 year without re-qualification (months
13-24).
The imaging protocol will consist of two high quality 3D T1-weighted
images, a T2-weighted dual-echo sequence with a standard quadrature head
coil.
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