MS Markers
MRI Quantification for Multiple Sclerosis
MS Markers is a easy-to-use online service that provides reliable and clinically useful measurements of lesion count, volume and brain volume loss (atrophy) from routine clinical MR images.
It is a known fact that brain atrophy and lesion volumetry are reliable measures of neurodegeneration and inflammation, respectively, and were established as good prognostic markers of long-term disability progression in MS patients. MS Markers applies the latest innovative algorithms, validated on relevant clinical images to reliably quantify these pathologies and deliver easy to understand clinically meaningful reports. To read more about Multiple Sclerosis and the benefits of using quantitative measurements please visit our Knowledge base.
MS Markers allows a clinician to get a better insight into MS disease activity and make fully-informed decisions about patient treatment.
How it works?
IMAGEUPLOAD
Acquire and export an MR study in DICOM format, zip the files and upload them to our server through secure and reliable web transfer.
AUTOMATICANALYSIS
Select the type of report you wish to generate based on the contents of uploaded files.
QUALITYCHECK
All results are subject to manual quality control. Potential remarks are listed in the report.
REPORTDOWNLOAD
Once approved by quality control, email notification is sent and the report is available for download.
Report content
- Whole brain volume
- Gray matter volume
- Visualization of largest lesion changes
- Comparison with age-matched healthy subjects
- Annual atrophy change compared to previous MRI
- FLAIR lesion volume and number
- Change of FLAIR lesion volume and number compared to previous MRI
A sample of MS Markers PDF report can be downloaded here.
Benefits of using MS Markers
EASY TO USE
MS Markers is a secure online service that takes MR images of your MS patient, extracts biomarkers most relevant to MS and returns an easily understandable report.
RELIABLE
We use the best algorithm, thoroughly validated on relevant clinical images, to extract each biomarker.
PROGNOSTIC
Be informed about the MS disease activity in your patient – use MS Markers to get ahead of MS.
Do not wait for clinical signs to inform you about the disease activity in your patient – use MS Markers and get ahead of MS today!
Required MRI protocol
To use MS Markers at least one clinical MR study that includes pre- or post-contrast 3D T1-weighted and 3D or 2D FLAIR protocols is needed. The table below shows the recommended MR acquisition parameters.
| MR Protocol | T1 | FLAIR |
|---|---|---|
| Acquisition | 3D | 3D or 2D |
| Pixel spacing | 1.0 × 1.0 mm | 1.0 × 1.0 mm |
| Slice thickness | 1.0 – 1.5 mm | 1.0 – 3.0 mm |
To obtain high quality measurements, high resolution (1 mm isotropic, no gap) protocols are preferred. Field of view should cover the whole head, including the skull and the brainstem. At field strength 1.5T or 3.0T these protocols take less than 30 min scanning time. Protocols can use standard vendor recommended settings, for instance to acquire a 3D T1-weighted image you can use MPRAGE (Siemens), TFE (Philips), FSPGR (GE). No specific slice orientation is preferred.
When to scan?
We recommend the following guidelines on when to acquire the baseline and follow-up MRI scans.
| Baseline MRI | Follow-up MRI |
|---|---|
| if no baseline scan is available | annually to monitor subclinical MS activity or PML* |
| 6 months after starting or switching treatment | at sudden clinical deterioration |
| after pregnancy | before starting or switching treatment |
For atrophy measurements, follow-up MR acquisition is recommended on the same scanner with the same protocols as the baseline.
