• Fabian Bamberg, Christopher L Schlett, Svenja Caspers, Steffen Ringhof, GüntherMatthiasM, Jochen G Hirsch, Julia Rüdebusch, Pavlína Miklánková, Nora Bittner, Christiane Jockwitz, Michael Forsting, Norbert Hosten, Rudolph Kaaks, Hans-Ulrich Kauczor, Thomas Kroenke, Thoralf Niendorf, Annette Peters, Tobias Pischon, Andreas Stang, Klaus Berger, Henry Völzke, and NAKO Investigators Consortium.
• Department of Radiology, Medical Center - University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Germany; Institute for Epidemiology and Social Medicine, University of Münster, Germany; Institute for Community Medicine, University Medical Center Greifswald, Germany; Institute for Anatomy I, Faculty of Medicine, University Hospital Düsseldorf, Heinrich-Heine-University of Düsseldorf; Institute for The Neurosciences and Medicine (INM-1), Research Center Jülich; Department of Radiology, Medical Center - University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Germany; Fraunhofer Institute for Digital Medicine MEVIS, Bremen; Institute for Community Medicine, University Medical Center Greifswald; Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, University Hospital Heidelberg; Institute for Diagnostic Radiology and Neuroradiology, University Medical Center Greifswald; Institute for Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology and Neuroradiology,University Medical Center Essen, University of Duisburg-Essen; Institute for Epidemiology, Helmholtz Center Munich - German Research Center for Health and the Environment, Neuherberg; Institute for Medical Data Processing, Biometrics, and Epidemiology, Faculty of Medicine, Ludwig-Maximilians-University of Munich; Department of Cancer Epidemiology, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) Heidelberg; Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, University Hospital Augsburg; Berlin Ultrahigh Field Facility (B.U.F.F.), Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine in the Helmholtz Gesellschaft (MDC), Berlin; German Center for Diabetes Research (DZD), Neuherberg; German Center for Cardiovascular Research (DZHK), Munich Heart Alliance, Munich; Molecular Epidemiology Research Group, Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine in the Helmholtz Gesellschaft (MDC), Berlin; Biobank Technology Platform, Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine in the Helmholtz Gesellschaft (MDC), Berlin; Charité University Medical Center Berlin; Institute for Medical Informatics, Biometrics, and Epidemiology, University Medical Center Essen, University of Duisburg-Essen.
• Dtsch Arztebl Int. 2024 Sep 6; 121 (18): 587593587-593.

BackgroundMagnetic resonance imaging (MRI) yields important information on the development and current status of many different diseases. Whole-body MRI was accordingly made a part of the multicenter, population-based NAKO Health Study. The present analysis concerns the feasibility of the baseline MRI examination and various aspects of quality assurance over the period 2014-2019.Methods32 252 participants in the NAKO Health Study, aged 20 to 74, who had no contraindication to MRI were invited to undergo scanning in one of five MRI study centers across Germany. The whole-body MRI scan took about one hour and consisted of sequences for the visualization of structural and functional features of the brain, musculoskeletal system, cardiovascular system, and thoracoabdominal system. A comprehensive quality-assurance assessment was carried out, with evaluation of adverse events, the completeness of the MRI protocols, the participants' subjective perceptions, and image quality.Results31 578 participants (97.9%) were successfully included in the MRI study. They reported a high level of comfort and suffered no severe adverse events (mild adverse events occurred in only four participants). Depending on the imaging sequence, the image quality was rated as excellent in 80.2% to 96.8% of cases. Quality assessment with respect to structural features of the brain revealed high consistency across study centers, as well as with regard to age- and sex-based differences in brain volume (men, 1203.81 ± 102.06 cm³; women, 1068.10 ± 86.69 cm³).ConclusionWhole-body MRI was successfully implemented in the NAKO baseline examination and was associated with high patient comfort and very good image quality. The imaging biomarkers of the brain confirmed previously observed differences based on age and sex, underscoring the feasibility of data pooling.

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