{
  "abstract": "Portable low-field MRI systems are a promising complement to conventional high-field systems, enabling broader access to MRI. However, correspondence in cortical thickness estimates between low- and high-field MRI in young people remains limited despite its importance for neurodevelopment and psychopathology. To evaluate how multiple low-field image processing approaches improve cortical thickness correspondence with high-field MRI in a large sample of young individuals, we collected T1-weighted (T1w) and T2-weighted (T2w) data using both low-field (64mT) and high-field (3T) MRI within one week of each other from a community sample of young people. We applied deep learning-based super-resolution methods (SynthSR v1 and SynthSR v2) followed by recon-all, or other reconstruction methods (recon-all-clinical and recon-any), to low-field data acquired across multiple sequences (T1w and T2w) and orientations (axial, coronal, sagittal, and multi-orientation average), with and without resampling and/or co-registration. We assessed global, lobar, and regional cortical thickness correspondence with 3T MRI measures based on the Desikan-Killiany atlas using Pearson and intraclass correlations. We compared pipelines using Steiger's Z-tests and Fisher's Z-tests. A total of 150 individuals (mean age, 18.63+/-5.07; 80 female) were included. We observed the highest global correspondence with recon-all-clinical applied to coronal T1w images (r=0.40, pFDR=3.02e-05), which significantly exceeded the best global correspondence in our previous study (Fisher's Z=1.99, p=0.047). At the lobar and regional levels, multi-orientation T2w images processed with recon-all-clinical showed the highest correspondence across the greatest number of regions (4/12 lobes; 13/68 regions). This pipeline showed the highest correspondence and largest improvements relative to recon-all alone in frontal, cingulate, and temporal regions, including the right pars triangularis (r=0.52, pFDR=4.78e-11; Steiger's Z=4.78, pFDR=4.25e-06), right caudal anterior cingulate (r=0.47, pFDR=3.83e-09; Steiger's Z=5.46, pFDR=1.32e-07), and left parahippocampal regions (r=0.58, pFDR=2.98e-14; Steiger's Z=5.17, pFDR=6.01e-07). We observed significantly improved cortical thickness correspondence in low-field MRI in young people relative to recon-all alone and our prior work. The recon-all-clinical pipeline yielded moderate correspondence, particularly in frontal, cingulate, and temporal regions. Our results demonstrate a methodological improvement in the use of low-field MRI for assessing cortical thickness in young people, providing a quantitative benchmark for current tools in this area.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, United States"
  ],
  "article_type": "New results",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 11,
  "authors": [
    {
      "name": "S. Choi"
    },
    {
      "name": "J. Shaw"
    },
    {
      "name": "R. Cooper"
    },
    {
      "name": "M. Corcoran"
    },
    {
      "name": "S. Sathe"
    },
    {
      "name": "R. Hayes"
    },
    {
      "name": "I. Elder"
    },
    {
      "name": "A. Lucas"
    },
    {
      "name": "C. Vadali"
    },
    {
      "name": "J. Stein"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "M. Jalbrzikowski"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/8frw1kfepevax.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.64898/2026.07.08.737238",
  "fulltext_url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.07.08.737238v2.full",
  "id": "8frw1kfepevax",
  "issns": [],
  "landing_url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.07.08.737238v2",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY-NC-ND",
  "licence_label": "CC BY-NC-ND",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "biorxiv",
      "neuroscience"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": null,
  "pdf_url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.07.08.737238v2.full.pdf",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-07-08",
  "publisher": null,
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/8frw1kfepevax.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:19:35Z",
      "native_id": "10.64898/2026.07.08.737238",
      "source": "biorxiv",
      "url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.07.08.737238v2"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "biology",
      "origin": "biorxiv:neuroscience",
      "subfield": "neuroscience"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Processing strategies for improving cortical thickness correspondence between low-field and high-field MRI in young people",
  "title_text": "Processing strategies for improving cortical thickness correspondence between low-field and high-field MRI in young people",
  "type": "preprint",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:19:35Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/8frw1kfepevax",
  "venue": "bioRxiv",
  "versions": [
    {
      "doi": "10.1162/imag.a.1430",
      "pid": null,
      "relation": "published-as",
      "title": null,
      "venue": null
    }
  ]
}