Electric Field Simulations Show High Reliability Across Multiple MRI Scanners
A traveling-subjects study of 10 participants scanned across five different 3T MRI scanners found that simulated electric fields for transcranial brain stimulation showed good to excellent reliability (ICC 0.86-0.98), with between-scanner variance not exceeding measurement error. This addresses a gap in knowledge about whether electric field simulations—used to guide brain stimulation treatments—are robust to the scanner variations that typically affect multicenter neuroimaging studies. The findings support the use of individualized electric field simulations in multicenter brain stimulation research.
Researchers conducted a traveling-subjects study to assess the reliability of electric field simulations for transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) across multiple MRI scanners. Ten participants were scanned twice each on five different 3T Siemens scanners, and electric fields were simulated for seven cortical and cerebellar targets using SimNIBS v4.1 software. Inter-scanner reliability was good to excellent (ICC 0.86-0.97), and scan-rescan reliability was similarly strong (0.94-0.98), with between-scanner variance remaining within measurement error bounds. The study found that intra-individual segmentation variability—differences in how brain tissue was segmented from images—substantially explained within-person differences in simulated field magnitudes, whereas image quality did not predict segmentation variability. These results demonstrate that individualized electric field simulations are robust to scanner-related variation, addressing a previously unexamined question in multicenter brain stimulation research.
What's missing
The study's limitations include the relatively small sample size (n=10) and restriction to 3T Siemens scanners, which may limit generalizability to other scanner manufacturers or field strengths. The mechanisms underlying the relationship between segmentation variability and field magnitude differences could be explored further. Additionally, the clinical or functional significance of the observed reliability coefficients for treatment outcomes remains unclear.
What different sources said
- bioRxivCenter
Multicenter reliability of electric field simulations: Evidence from a traveling-subjects study
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