Interest of structured reporting and combined automated co-registration and lesion color-coding maps for longitudinal magnetic resonance imaging analysis in patients with multiple sclerosis : the MS-LOBI-SR study protocol

MS is characterized by chronic and immune-mediated inflammatory lesions of the brain white matter, disseminated in time and space. As the technology improved over the next three decades, MRI quickly grew to become the single most important paraclinical diagnostic and monitoring tool available. A lesion will be defined as having a high T2/FLAIR signal ≥ 3 millimeters in diameter. The purpose of this study, witch includes 95 patients, was to investigate the benefit of a computer assisted detection reading using combined automated co-registration and lesion color-coding method approach, over a conventional reading approach in follow-up examinations of patients with MS, especially regarding diagnostic accuracy, inter/intra-reader agreement and required reading time. The impact of the use of a structured report on these variables will also be evaluated. The main judgment criteria will be : diagnostic accuracy (effectiveness) to assess the progression-activity of the disease based on the appearance of a T2w-FLAIR hyperintensity or a T1w enhancement on the follow-up examination, compared between consensus corrected CADR and CR readings.The reading of the examinations will be made by radiologists and radiology technician.