Table 2 Reproducibility and comparability of local BeneMin magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) protocols and N-back presentation
| Â | Wolfson Brain Imaging Centre Cambridge | MRI facility in Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust | Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging UCL | Centre for Neuroimaging Sciences KCL | Clinical Research Imaging Centre Edinburgh | Birmingham University Imaging Centre |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
MRI scanner | Siemens Trim Trio | Philips Achieva | Siemens Trim Trio | GE | Siemens Verio | Philips Archieva |
Field strength (Tesla) | 3Â T | 3Â T | 3Â T | 3Â T | 3Â T | 3Â T |
Head Coil | 12-channel | 8-channel | 12-channel | 12-channel | 12-channel | 8-channel |
MPRAGE/SPGR time | 9:14 | 10:52 | 9:14 | 10:19 | 9:14 | 10:52 |
PD/T2 time | 5:08 | 5:33 | 5:08 | 4:49 | 5:08 | 5:33 |
EPI time | 25:02 | 25:04 | 25:00 | 25:04 | 25:02 | 25:08 |
MPRAGE/SPGR voxel size FH/IS (mm) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
MPRAGE/SPGR voxel size AP (mm) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
MPRAGE/SPGR voxel size RL (mm) | 1 | 1.2 | 1.2 | 1.2 | 1.2 | 1.2 |
PD/T2Â voxel size AP (mm) | 0.9 | 0.9 | 0.9 | 0.9 | 0.9 | 0.9 |
PD/T2Â voxel size RL (mm) | 0.9 | 0.9 | 0.9 | 0.9 | 0.9 | 0.9 |
PD/T2Â voxel size FH/IS (mm) | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
EPI voxel size RL (mm) | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3.3 | 3.4 | 3 |
EPI voxel size AP (mm) | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3.3 | 3.4 | 3 |
EPI voxel size FH/IS (mm) | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4 | 4.5 |
FOV MPRAGE/SPGR FH/IS (mm) | 256 | 256 | 256 | 260 | 256 | 256 |
FOV MPRAGE/SPGR AP (mm) | 256 (240) | 256 (240) | 256 (240) | 260 | 256 (240) | 240 |
FOV MPRAGE/SPGR RL (mm) | 192 | 204 | 192 | 204 | 176 | 204 |
FOV PD/T2 AP (mm) | 240 | 240 | 240 | 240 | 240 | 240 |
FOV PD/T2 RL (mm) | 240 (214) | 240 (210) | 240 (214) | 240 | 240 (214) | 210 |
FOV PD/T2 FH/IS (mm) | 144 | 144 | 144 | 144 | 144 | 144 |
FOV EPI RL (mm) | 192 | 192 | 192 | 211 | 220 | 192 |
FOV EPI AP (mm) | 192 | 192 | 192 | 211 | 220 | 192 |
FOV EPI FH/IS (mm) | 126 | 175.5 | 126 | 126 | 129 | 175.5 |
Slice plane MPRAGE/SPGR | Sagittal | Sagittal | Sagittal | Sagittal | Sagittal | Sagittal |
Slice plane PD/T2 | Transverse | Transverse | Transverse | Transverse/axial | Transverse | Transverse |
Slice plane EPI | Transverse | Transverse | Transverse | Transverse/axial | Transverse > C-19.8 > S0.8 | Transverse |
EPI acquisition | Interleaved | Interleaved | Interleaved | Interleaved | Interleaved | Interleaved |
Number of slices for MPRAGE/SPGR | 176 | 170 | 160 | 170 | 160 | 170 |
Number of slices for PD/T2 | 48 | 48 | 48 | 48 | 48 | 48 |
Number of slices for EPI | 28 | 39 | 28 | 28 | 26 | 39 |
Number of volumes for EPI | 748 | 748 | 748 | 748 | 748 | 748 |
Fold-over/phase encoding direction MPRAGE/SPGR | A > > P | A > > P | A > > P | P > > A | A > > P | A > > P |
Fold-over/phase encoding direction PD/T2 | R > > L | R > > L | R > > L | L > > R | R > > L | R > > L |
Fold-over/phase encoding direction EPI | A > > P | A > > P | A > > P | P > > A | A > > P | A > > P |
TE MPRAGE/SPGR (ms) | 2.98 | Shortest (3.1) | 2.91 | Min Full | 2.98 | 3.1 |
TR PD/T2 (ms) | 3,000 | 3,000 | 3,000 | 3,000 | 3,000 | 3,000 |
TE 1 PD/T2 (ms) | 11 | Shortest (10) | 11 | Min Full | 11 | Shortest (10) |
TE 2 PD/T2 (ms) | 99 | 96 | 99 | 97.2 | 101 | 96 |
TR EPI (ms) | 2,000 | 2,000 | 2,000 | 2,000 | 2,000 | 2,000 |
TE EPI (ms) | 30 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 26 | 30 |
Flip angle MPRAGE/SPGR (deg) | 9 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 8 |
Flip angle EPI (deg) | 90 | 79 | 90 | 90 | 66 | 79 |
Distance factor for EPI (%) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25 (1Â mm) | 0 |
MRI data format | DICOM | DICOM | DICOM | DICOM | DICOM | DICOM |
N-back task software | Visual studio | E-Prime 2.0.10 | E-Prime 2.0.10 | E-Prime 2.0.10 Professional | E-Prime 2.0.10 | E-Prime 2.0.10 Professional |
Response pad | 4-button right handed | 4-button right handed | 4-button right handed | 4-button right handed | 4-button right handed | 5-button right handed |
Response box connection | Parallel port | USB | USB | USB | USB | USB |
TTL pulses box connection | Parallel port | USB | USB | USB | USB | Parallel port |
N-back data format | TXT | TXT | TXT | TXT | TXT | TXT |