Assessing DWI Data Consistency Across MRI Manufacturers and Imaging Sites

Motivation: Ensuring consistency across MRI scanners from various manufacturers is essential for reliable multicenter DWI studies and accurate clinical and research data interpretation. Goal(s): This study evaluates consistency of advanced DWI metrics across GE, Philips, and Siemens MRI systems to standardize data for clinical trials and research. Approach: DWI data were acquired from traveling subjects and a larger cohort across 3T scanners from three manufacturers. Preprocessing generated DWI metric maps, and voxel-wise averages of the metrics were estimated for inter-vendor comparison. Results: A considerable consistency in DWI metrics was observed, supported by high intraclass correlation coefficients and low coefficients of variation. Impact: This study offers insights into DWI data consistency for multicenter neuroimaging studies involving advanced DWI across major MRI manufacturers.