Measuring brain volume loss

Major advances have been made in brain imaging technology over the last decade or two and the Sydney Neuroimaging Analysis Centre (SNAC), located within the Brain and Mind Research Institute (BMRI) in Sydney, is making sure Australia is on the cutting edge.

SNAC is now home to a sophisticated neuroimaging technology platform that enables analyses of MRI brain scans and measurement of brain volume loss with a sensitivity and accuracy previously unavailable in Australia.

“Measuring brain volume loss provides insightful information for treating, diagnosing and monitoring patients with diseases like multiple sclerosis (MS), schizophrenia and dementia,” said Associate Professor Michael Barnett, who uses the technology platform in his research on MS.

MS is an inflammatory and degenerative disorder caused by the demyelination of nerve cells, which results in progressive and increasing motor and cognitive deficits. It has an average age of onset of 30 years.

“We all undergo brain volume loss from about the age of 30 onwards,” Associate Professor Barnett BMRI said. “But in people with MS this shrinkage occurs a lot faster.”

The neuroimaging platform allows him to scan and create a virtual 3D representation of a person’s brain. This virtual brain can then be segmented into the cortex, cerebrospinal fluid and deep grey matter structures, providing detailed information on brain volume - and it can all be done very rapidly and reproducibly.

“This technology exceeds the information we could derive five years ago for patients with MS,” said Associate Professor Barnett, acknowledging Associate Professor Jim Lagopoulos, who spearheaded the MS research at the BMRI.

Measuring brain atrophy with such sophisticated techniques means changes can be monitored early in a person’s disease trajectory, which can result in better outcomes for patients.

Associate Professor Barnett established SNAC in 2012 in a collaborative effort with the Buffalo Neuroimaging Analysis Centre in the USA.

“Brain imaging is now reliant on collaboration and clinical partnership,” said Professor Ian Hickey, director of the BMRI, referring to the University of Sydney’s BMRI, SNAC, Multiple Sclerosis Research Australia and the  local health district research partnership involved in the research. The centre is also supported by Novartis Pharmaceuticals.