Population-Wide Model-Free Quantification of Blood-Brain-Barrier Dynamics in Multiple Sclerosis

Abstract

The processes by which new white matter lesions in multiple sclerosis (MS) develop are only partially understood. Recently developed lesions tend to enhance on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans following the intravenous administration of a contrast agent. In this paper, we develop a model-free framework for the analysis of these data that provides biologically meaningful quantification of this blood-brain barrier opening.