SELMA

SELMA quantifies blood flow velocity in cerebral perforating arteries from two-dimensional phase contrast magnetic resonance imaging (2D PC-MRI) data, enabling measurement of velocity pulsatility index as an indicator of arterial stiffness.

Key Features:

• Velocity Analysis: SELMA calculates mean velocity (vmean) and velocity pulsatility index (PI) from 2D PC-MRI data of cerebral perforating arteries.
• Vessel Detection: SELMA employs a vessel selection paradigm that detects cerebral perforating arteries for analysis.
• Region of Interest Drawing: SELMA enables operators to draw regions of interest on PC-MRI data for velocity quantification.
• Validation: SELMA implements an analysis algorithm validated against previously published data using Bland-Altman analysis.

Scientific Applications:

• Cerebrovascular Disease Research: SELMA supports investigation of perforating artery stiffness related to cerebrovascular diseases through velocity PI measurement.
• Multi-Site Studies: SELMA enables consistent velocity analysis across multiple MRI vendors and sites, as demonstrated in a study with sixty participants from three MRI vendors across eight sites.
• Inter-Rater Reliability Assessment: SELMA facilitates reproducible velocity measurements between different operators, with demonstrated Dice Similarity Coefficient of 0.91 for region of interest delineation.

Methodology:

SELMA implements an analysis algorithm for 2D PC-MRI velocity analysis that was validated against previously published data using Bland-Altman analysis. The tool calculates mean velocity and velocity pulsatility index from operator-drawn regions of interest on PC-MRI data.