Hitchhiker's Guide to Voxel Segmentation for Partial Volume Correction of In Vivo Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy

Magn Reson Insights. 2016 Apr 27:9:1-8. doi: 10.4137/MRI.S32903. eCollection 2016.

Abstract

Partial volume effects have the potential to cause inaccuracies when quantifying metabolites using proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS). In order to correct for cerebrospinal fluid content, a spectroscopic voxel needs to be segmented according to different tissue contents. This article aims to detail how automated partial volume segmentation can be undertaken and provides a software framework for researchers to develop their own tools. While many studies have detailed the impact of partial volume correction on proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy quantification, there is a paucity of literature explaining how voxel segmentation can be achieved using freely available neuroimaging packages.

Keywords: magnetic resonance spectroscopy; neurospectroscopy; partial volume; quantification; segmentation.