• Contact
  • EPAD Academy
Top Bar Menu
TwitterFacebookYouTube
Search...
EPADEPAD
EPAD
European Prevention of Alzheimer's Dementia Consortium
  • Home
  • About
    • Welcome to EPAD
    • Project Objectives
    • Project Structure
    • EPAD Partners
    • Coordination & Management
    • EPAD Q&A
  • Our research
    • Participation in EPAD
      • Participation in EPAD Cohort
      • EPAD Study Visits
      • Trial Locations
      • Participation FAQs
    • The Participant’s Experience
      • The Research Participant Panel
      • EPAD Stories
    • The EPAD platform
      • The EPAD Platform
      • EPAD Benefits
      • Clinical Candidate Selection
      • EPAD FAQs
      • Research Resources
  • Open Access Data
    • Overview
    • Access
    • Data
    • Samples
    • MRI Images
  • News & Publications
    • Latest News
    • Newsletters
    • Publications
    • Videos
Menu back  

MRI Images

The EPAD Neuroimaging dataset

The EPAD imaging protocol is composed of some compulsory (core) sequences that are performed on all participants with the addition of other (advanced) modalities which the sites can optionally implement.

The EPAD core and advanced sequences
Core imaging Protocol

The core image acquisitions are mandatory and conducted in all sites. They provide structural and morphological information about the brain and serve to evaluate participants study eligibility through baseline radiological assessment and for quantitative analysis of brain structure and vascular lesions. Core sequences include:

  • 3D-T1 weighted structural imaging(T1w)
  • 3D Fluid Attenuated Inversion Recovery imaging (FLAIR)
  • 2D-T2 weighted imaging (T2w)
  • 2D-T2-star imaging (T2*)
Advanced imaging Protocol

The advanced Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) protocol is performed only in a subset of sites with suitable equipment. It investigates functional and structural brain characteristics and includes one or more of the following types of acquisition:

  • 3D-T2*
  • 3D-susceptibility weighted imaging (SWI)
  • Diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI or dMRI)
  • Resting-state functional MRI (rs-fMRI)
  • Arterial spin labelling (ASL)

Accessing Raw and Pre-processed Data

The original EPAD data from MRI scans in the form of DICOM data represents a high-volume data resource. To facilitate imaging research, the neuroimaging dataset is available in NifTI format and access will be provided via an xNAT currently hosted at VUmc (Netherlands).

All requests for EPAD LCS MRI data will be recorded by the EPAD LCS Research Access Process. Once a “data+imaging” request is approved, investigators will be given credentials to access the study portal on the xNAT system. Data in xNAT are stored following a standard Brain Imaging Data Structure (BIDS), and two types of NIfTIs can be accessed: raw and pre-processed.

Users interested in unprocessed data can refer to the “raw” folder on the xNAT system. This will include all NIfTIs that are direct results of the DICOM to NIfTI conversion and without any other manipulation applied. Each NIfTI is further accompanied with a JavaScript Object Notation (JSON), an open standard file format, storing information about image acquisition such as date and time, effective echo spacing, encoding direction, magnetic field strength and others. Given the high diversity of the EPAD dataset in terms of different scanner vendors and devices, JSON files are fundamental for extracting useful information for image pre-processing. Nonetheless, we strongly recommend users to aim for processed data, which will give the investigators the guaranty of working with an high-quality selected dataset.

Pre-processed data are stored in the “derived” folder, including all products which are not the direct results of the DICOM to NIfTI conversion. An overview of which pre-processed sequences can be found in xNAT is given in the table below.

Raw and pre-processed NIfTIs
Group Sequence Raw NIfTIs Pre-processed NIfTIs
Core Sequences 3D-T1 weighted ✔ ✔
3D FLAIR ✔ ✔
2D-T2 weighted ✔
2D-T2 star ✔
Advanced Sequences 3D-T2* ✔
3D-SWI ✔
DTI ✔ ✔
fMRI ✔ ✔
ASL ✔ ✔

The Imaging Derivatives

The imaging derivatives are numerical variables which are extracted from different MRI sequences during pre and post processing. Such derivatives will be released in excel spreadsheets together with other EPAD data through the Aridhia workspace.

The EPAD imaging derivatives are thought for researchers with no or little experience in Image processing/analysis that want to carry out straight forward statistics on association between brain characteristics and other phenotypical data.

The table below shows the derivatives that are currently available (or in progress).

Image Derivative MRI Sequence Description
Core Sequences Leap Brain Volumes T1 Volume of brain parcellations as computed with LEAP pipeline
Freesurfer Parcellation T1 Volume of brain parcellation as computed with Freesurfer
White Matter Hyperintensities Volumes FLAIR Volume of White Matter Hyperintensities
Advanced Sequences Bold Timeseries fMRI fMRI timeseries for different brain atlases (e.g. AAL, Harvard-Oxford)
Functional Network Properties fMRI Graph properties (Degree, betweenness centrality, Eigenvector centrality, clustering Path length)
Tract Based Spatial Statistics (TBSS) DTI Values of Fractional Anisotropy in the white matter skeleton

Besides the one illustrated in the table, the radiological read of structural scans provides the user with other information regarding brain pathology such as: number of microbleeds, atrophy scores (MTA, Koedam and GCA), and Fazekas score, global and per lobe.

Share this page
FacebookTwitterLinkedInGoogle+
Latest News
  • Closing EPAD article published in the Alzheimer Europe magazine
    2021-02-24
  • Alzheimer Europe launches a report on data sharing in dementia research
    2021-02-23
  • Local actions to keep the EPAD Longitudinal Cohort data collection going
    2021-02-17
  • Neuronet releases its Knowledge Base dashboard
    2021-02-01
  • The final EPAD dataset is now available to the entire research community
    2020-11-30
View the EPAD Brochure
thumbnail of EPAD brochure
Speak to the EPAD team
thumbnail of speech bubbles
Twitter
Twitter
EPAD
EPAD
@IMI_EPAD

@AD_PREVENT @alzassociation @alzheimerssoc Congratulations to all the team 👏

reply retweet favorite
7:03 am · 2021-03-01
Twitter
EPAD
EPAD
@IMI_EPAD

.@AlzheimerEurope has published a new edition of its “Dementia in Europe” magazine. It includes a closing article on @IMI_EPAD. Our co-leads @craig_ritchie68 and Serge Van der Geyten, reflect on the achievements of the project. Download the PDF here: bit.ly/DementiaInEuro… twitter.com/AlzheimerEurop…

reply retweet favorite
12:40 pm · 2021-02-24
Twitter
EPAD
EPAD
@IMI_EPAD

Last week, we held the first local @IMI_EPAD community meeting among the Scottish research sites, collaborators, academics & scientists who have been involved in our Longitudinal Cohort Study and now continue to contribute to the study locally More info⤵️ ep-ad.org/2021/02/17/loc… pic.twitter.com/MTKmanCURk

reply retweet favorite
6:51 am · 2021-02-24
Twitter
EPAD
EPAD
@IMI_EPAD

Check out the new @AlzheimerEurope report on #DataSharing in #dementia #research, which reviews recent changes in EU research policy and sets out recommendations to improve data sharing. It includes case studies from ADNI, @IMI_EPAD and @IMI_EMIF. ⬇️ Bit.ly/DataSharing_AE twitter.com/AlzheimerEurop…

reply retweet favorite
2:39 pm · 2021-02-23
Twitter
EPAD
EPAD
@IMI_EPAD

Scottish @IMI_EPAD members have been invited to join the first #EPADcommunity meeting. Today, we're discussing about publications, #data access, communications, participant panel, #network & #collaborations. Nice to see some #epadistas sharing their insights 👨‍⚕️👩‍🔬👩‍💻 pic.twitter.com/O1hLAVxk0Q

reply retweet favorite
2:23 pm · 2021-02-17
Copyright © 2015-19 EPAD | Created by CMAST and Aridhia
  • Acronyms
  • Legal Notice
  • Privacy Policy
Bottom Menu

efpia-logo EU imi logo

This work has received support from the EU/EFPIA Innovative Medicines Initiative Joint Undertaking EPAD grant agreement nº 115736

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. Accept Read More
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled

Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.

Non-necessary

Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.