The German research consortium for the study of bipolar disorder (BipoLife): a quality assurance protocol for MR neuroimaging data

TL;DR

The BipoLife study outlines a quality assurance protocol for MRI data to improve the reliability of bipolar disorder research across multiple centers.

Contribution

A standardized QA protocol for MR neuroimaging data in a longitudinal, multicenter bipolar disorder study.

Findings

The QA protocol characterized MR scanner performance and detected malfunctions early.

Systematic assessment of MRI data quality influenced standard neuroimaging analysis outcomes.

The protocol promotes consistent data evaluation and inclusion criteria for the BipoLife consortium.

Abstract

The German multicenter research consortium BipoLife aims to investigate the mechanisms underlying bipolar disorders. It focuses in particular on people at high risk of developing the disorder and young patients in the early stages of the disease. Functional and structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data was collected in all participating centers. The collection of neuroimaging data in a longitudinal, multicenter study requires the implementation of a comprehensive quality assurance (QA) protocol. Here, we outline this protocol and illustrate its application within the BipoLife consortium.

The QA protocol consisted of (1) a training of participating research staff, (2) regular phantom measurements to evaluate the MR scanner performance and its temporal stability across the course of the study, and (3) the assessment of the quality of human MRI data by evaluating a variety of image metrics (e.g., signal-to-noise ratio, ghosting level). In this article, we will provide an overview on these QA procedures and show exemplarily the influence of its application on the results of standard neuroimaging analysis pipelines.

The QA protocol helped to characterize the various MR scanners, to record their performance over the course of the study and to detect possible malfunctions at an early stage. It also assessed the quality of the human MRI data systematically to characterize its influence on various analyses. Furthermore, by setting up and publishing this protocol, we define standards that must be considered when analyzing data from the BipoLife consortium. It further promotes a systematic evaluation of data quality and a definition of subject inclusion criteria. In the long term, it will help to increase the chance of achieving clinically relevant results.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s40345-024-00354-7.

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