Repeatability of 3D MR fingerprinting during scanner software upgrades

This study aims to quantify the repeatability of a 3D Magnetic Resonance Fingerprinting (MRF) research protocol in the context of a scanner software upgrade. All of MRI assumes consistent hardware performance and raw data pre-processing on the acquisition side. Software upgrades can affect hardware specifications and reconstruction chain parameters. Understanding how vendor-provided software upgrades vary MRF-derived T1 and T2 values is crucial for its application in different settings.

Eight healthy volunteers were imaged with an in-house developed 3D MRF pulse sequence using a 3T scanner before and after a software upgrade (VA31A to VA50A, MAGNETOM Vida, Siemens Healthineers). Online MRF reconstruction using Singular Value Decomposition (SVD) timeseries compression and B1+ correction was performed. The study involved test-retest repeatability assessment and a comparison of pre- and post-upgrade data based on automatically extracted T1 and T2 values from MNI-152 Harvard-Oxford Subcortical Structural Atlas regions.

Significant mismatches were found directly after the upgrade. However, after an information exchange with the vendor, the 3D-MRF sequence showed consistent repeatability in both intra-version test–retest scenarios and cross-version comparisons: \(-\) $-$ 1.16 ± 3.18% variability in T1 and \(-\) $-$ 0.54 ± 4.84% in T2 for intra-version tests, and \(-\) $-$ 0.83 ± 3.68% (T1) and \(-\) $-$ 0.05 ± 5.81% (T2) variability for cross-version comparisons.

The study shows the reliable performance of 3D MRF protocols across software upgrades is possible, but it also highlights the importance of detailed evaluation and vendor collaboration in ensuring consistency. These findings support the application of MRF in longitudinal studies and emphasize the need for systematic assessments following hardware or software modifications.