Spinal cord MS lesion detection at 7T - Added value of MP2RAGE imaging and requirement for automatic lesion segmentation

In this exploratory study focusing on MP2RAGE and MS lesions, we demonstrated the added value of 7T imaging for lesion detection, with +20-to-30% of additional lesions seen compared to 3T. We also demonstrated that both currently available automatic segmentation model in SCT and an exploratory model build and trained based on MP2RAGE 3T images were not optimal for detecting lesions in 7T images (although a small contribution with slightly higher PPV was obtained with our model). As 7T opens great perspectives, further study should now focus on specific training and analysis tools to deal with 7T resolution and contrasts.