Table S1.

A brief description of the four routine clinical sequences used for the BALI assessment

Sequence	Definition	General application	Chief features	Signal intensity characteristics
				Gray matter and white matter	CSF	Common lesions
3D-T1WI	High-resolution 3D T1-weighted imaging using spoiled fast gradient echoes for acquisition during inversion recovery	Visualizing normal anatomy especially small details in three dimensions to improve delineation of GM and WM	TR >2,000 ms TE <5 ms TI 400–1,100 ms FA 7°–11°	GM lower SI than WM	Dark	Dark (fluid) Bright (paramagnetic substance)
T2WI	T2-weighted imaging highlighting differences in the T2 (spin–spin) relaxation time of tissues	Visualizing pathology	TR >2,000 ms TE >60 ms	GM higher SI than WM	Bright	Bright (fluid) Dark (paramagnetic substance)
T2-FLAIR	T2-weighted fluid attenuation inversion recovery sequence; signal intensity of free fluid was suppressed and removed by TI	Visualizing changes contained combined fluid for detecting subtle changes at the periphery of hemispheres and in periventricular regions	TR >2,000 ms TE >60 ms TI =2,000 ms	GM slightly higher SI than WM	Dark	Bright (combined fluid)
T2*GRE	T2*-weighted gradient recalled echo; susceptible to static field in homogeneities to detect the smallest changes in magnet field uniformity	Visualizing changes with susceptibility characters (paramagnetic substance deposition, similar to iron deposition or calcification)	TR 650–800 ms TE 3–20 ms FA 5°–20°	GM slightly higher SI than WM	Bright	Dark (eg, hemorrhage, calcification)

Abbreviations: 3D, three-dimensional; BALI, brain atrophy and lesion index; CSF, cerebral spinal fluid; FA, flip angle; GM, gray matter; SI, signal intensity; T1WI, T1-weighted image; T2WI, T2-weighted image; T2-FLAIR, T2-weighted fluid attenuation inversion recovery sequence; T2*GRE, T2*-weighted gradient recalled echo sequence; TE, echo time; TI, time of inversion; TR, repetition time; WM, white matter.