Age-stratified Assessment of Brain Volumetric Segmentation on the Indian Population Using Quantitative Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Abstract

Background and Purpose

Automated methods for quantifying brain tissue volumes have gained clinical interest for their objective assessment of neurological diseases. This study aimed to establish reference curves for brain volumes and fractions in the Indian population using Synthetic MRI (SyMRI), a quantitative imaging technique providing multiple contrast-weighted images through fast postprocessing.

Methods

The study included a cohort of 314 healthy individuals aged 15–65 years from multiple hospitals/centers across India. The SyMRI-quantified brain volumes and fractions, including brain parenchymal fraction (BPF), gray matter fraction (GMF), white matter fraction (WMF), and myelin.

Results

Normative age-stratified quantification curves were created based on the obtained data. The results showed significant differences in brain volumes between the sexes, but not after normalization by intracranial volume.

Conclusion

The findings provide normative data for the Indian population and can be used for comparative analysis of brain structure values. Furthermore, our data indicate that the use of fractions rather than absolute volumes in normative curves, such as BPF, GMF, and WMF, can mitigate sex and population differences as they account for individual differences in head size or brain volume.