Epileptogenic lesions in the Australian epilepsy project: A harmonized 3-T magnetic resonance imaging protocol and its diagnostic yield

Abstract

Objective: Detection of epilepsy-causing structural brain lesions on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is critical for diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment planning in people with epilepsy. We aimed to establish an epilepsy-directed multisite harmonized 3-T MRI acquisition protocol for the Australian Epilepsy Project (AEP) and describe the clinical structural brain findings in the initial participant cohort. Methods: The AEP MRI protocol was designed to meet clinical diagnostic and research needs. It includes HARNESS-MRI sequences plus targeted views (temporal pole), susceptibility and diffusion imaging, quantitative measurements (T1, T2), and selected functional MRI tasks. A total of 1330 adu..