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Open Access 01-12-2023 | Original Article
Inter-vendor and inter-observer reliability of diffusion tensor imaging in the musculoskeletal system: a multiscanner MR study
Published in: Insights into Imaging | Issue 1/2023
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Background
To evaluate the inter-observer and inter-vendor reliability of diffusion tensor imaging parameters in the musculoskeletal system.
Methods
This prospective study included six healthy volunteers three men (mean age: 42; range: 31–52 years) and three women (mean age: 36; range: 30–44 years).
Each subject was scanned using different 3 Tesla magnetic resonance scanners from three different vendors at three different sites bilaterally. First, the intra-class correlation coefficient was used to determine between-observers agreement for overall measurements and clinical sites. Next, between-group comparisons were made through the nonparametric Friedman’s test. Finally, the Bland–Altman method was used to determine agreement among the three scanner measurements, comparing them two by two.
Results
A total of 792 measurement were calculated. ICC reported high levels of agreement between the two observers. ICC related to MD, FA, and RD measurements ranged from 0.88 (95% CI 0.85–0.90) to 0.95 (95% CI 0.94–0.96), from 0.85 (95% CI 0.81–0.88) to 0.95 (95% CI 0.93–0.96), and from 0.89 (0.85–0.90) to 0.92 (0.90–0.94).
No statistically significant inter-vendor differences were observed. The Bland–Altmann method confirmed a high correlation between parameter values.
Conclusion
An excellent inter-observer and inter-vendor reliability was found in our study.