Cross-vendor three-dimensional multiparametric mapping of the human brain: A traveling-subject and patient study

Multiparametric techniques compatible with multiple vendors to facilitate the pooling of data among different sites and vendors are desired. Here, we developed a vendor-standardized whole-brain multiparametric mapping scheme based on 3D-QALAS. Intra-scanner repeatability and inter-vendor reproducibility were evaluated on test-retest session data on five different 3T systems from four MRI vendors (GE, Philips, Siemens, and Canon). T1 and T2 relaxation times and proton density values derived from 3D-QALAS showed coefficient of variations of <4.0% across scanners from different vendors. Finally, we performed an inter-vendor validation on multiple sclerosis patients to assess the feasibility of the scheme in real-world clinical settings.