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From Big Data to the Clinic: Methodological and Statistical Enhancements to Implement the UK Biobank Imaging Framework in a Memory Clinic
Grace Gillis, Gaurav Vivek Bhalerao, Jasmine Blane, Robert Mitchell, Pieter M Pretorius, Celeste McCracken, Thomas E. Nichols, Stephen M. Smith et al.. Human Brain Mapping, 2025-02-15
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
The analysis tools and statistical methods used in large neuroimaging research studies differ from those applied in clinical contexts, making it unclear whether these techniques can be translated to a memory clinic setting. The Oxford Brain Health Clinic (OBHC) was established in 2020 to bridge this gap between research studies and memory clinics. We optimised the UK Biobank imaging framework for the memory clinic setting by integrating enhanced quality control (QC) processes (MRIQC, QUAD, and DSE decomposition) and supplementary dementia-informed analyses (lobar volumes, NBM volumes, WMH classification, PSMD, cortical diffusion MRI metrics, and tract volumes) into the analysis pipeline. We explored associations between resultant imaging-derived phenotypes (IDPs) and clinical phenotypes in the OBHC patient population (N = 213), applying hierarchical FDR correction to account for multiple testing. 14%-24% of scans were flagged by automated QC tools, but upon visual inspection, only 0%-2.4% of outputs were excluded. The pipeline successfully generated 5683 IDPs aligned with UK Biobank and 110 IDPs targeted towards dementia-related changes. We replicated established associations and found novel associations between brain metrics and age, cognition, and dementia-related diagnoses. The imaging protocol is feasible, acceptable, and yields high-quality data that is usable for both clinical and research purposes. We validated the use of this methodology in a real-world memory clinic population, which demonstrates the potential of this enhanced pipeline to bridge the gap between big data studies and clinical settings.
Key findings
- We explored associations between resultant imaging-derived phenotypes (IDPs) and clinical phenotypes in the OBHC patient population (N = 213), applying hierarchical FDR correction to account for multiple testing. 14%-24% of scans were flagged by automated QC tools, but upon visual inspection, only 0%-2.4% of outputs were excluded.
- The pipeline successfully generated 5683 IDPs aligned with UK Biobank and 110 IDPs targeted towards dementia-related changes.
- We replicated established associations and found novel associations between brain metrics and age, cognition, and dementia-related diagnoses.
- The imaging protocol is feasible, acceptable, and yields high-quality data that is usable for both clinical and research purposes.
- We validated the use of this methodology in a real-world memory clinic population, which demonstrates the potential of this enhanced pipeline to bridge the gap between big data studies and clinical settings.
Why it matters
This work adapted the UK Biobank imaging framework for a memory clinic, producing thousands of imaging measures and replicating and finding associations with age, cognition, and dementia-related diagnoses. It is a methods and feasibility study about translating research imaging into clinical settings, not a test of treatment or prevention.
Study details
- Participants213
- Effect size2.4%
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 47/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Human Brain Mapping) |
| Journal's citation record | 3 / 4 | Human Brain Mapping: journal h-index 271 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 4 / 5 | 2025 — within 3 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 2 / 4 | 213 participants |
| Effect reported | 2 / 3 | Effect reported as a number, without an interval or test |
| Studied in people | 3 / 3 | Studied in people (participant count stated) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 1 / 7 | Cited 3 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 1 / 5 | 1.0 citations a year over 3 year(s) since 2025 |
| Impact for its field and year | 2 / 6 | Cited 1.9× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 0 / 6 | No other study in this library cites it |
| Still being cited | 1 / 4 | Cited 3 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 2 / 4 | Last-listed author Ludovica Griffanti: h-index 36 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 2 / 3 | University of Oxford: institution h-index 2,205 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 2 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 4 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 39969115) |
| Free to read | 2 / 2 | Free to read |
| Total | 47 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
Full text: free to read — OpenAlex lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 6 Feb 1020).
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. The record's author list ends in “et al.”, so not every author is named. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Gillis, G., Bhalerao, G. V., Blane, J., Mitchell, R., Pretorius, P. M., McCracken, C., et al. (2025). From Big Data to the Clinic: Methodological and Statistical Enhancements to Implement the UK Biobank Imaging Framework in a Memory Clinic. Human Brain Mapping. https://doi.org/10.1002/hbm.70151
Vancouver
Gillis G, Bhalerao GV, Blane J, Mitchell R, Pretorius PM, McCracken C, et al. From Big Data to the Clinic: Methodological and Statistical Enhancements to Implement the UK Biobank Imaging Framework in a Memory Clinic. Human Brain Mapping. 2025. doi:10.1002/hbm.70151. PMID: 39969115.
BibTeX
@article{gillis2025-39969115,
author = {Gillis, Grace and Bhalerao, Gaurav Vivek and Blane, Jasmine and Mitchell, Robert and Pretorius, Pieter M and McCracken, Celeste and Nichols, Thomas E. and Smith, Stephen M. and others},
title = {{From Big Data to the Clinic: Methodological and Statistical Enhancements to Implement the UK Biobank Imaging Framework in a Memory Clinic}},
journal = {Human Brain Mapping},
year = {2025},
doi = {10.1002/hbm.70151},
pmid = {39969115},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1002/hbm.70151}
}
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