Data Acquisition and Conversion

Overview

MR spectroscopy data is initially exported from the scanner as .rda files. However, LCModel requires data in .RAW format. Converting from .rda to .RAW involves more than simply renaming the file—it requires reading the data and writing it out in a compatible format.

Flowchart showing the conversion process from .rda to .RAW format

Procedure

  1. Data Export Export your raw spectroscopy data from the scanner, which is typically saved in the .rda format.

  2. Conversion with FID-A Toolbox (MATLAB) Use the FID-A toolbox to load and convert the files. The following MATLAB script demonstrates the process:

    % Add FID-A to MATLAB path
    addpath(genpath('/Users/SH7437/FID-A-master'));
    
    % Load the RDA files for suppressed and unsuppressed acquisitions
    in_suppressed = io_loadspec_rda('/Users/SH7437/Desktop/suppressed.rda');
    in_unsuppressed = io_loadspec_rda('/Users/SH7437/Desktop/unsuppressed.rda');
    
    % Set the echo time (TE) in milliseconds (update as needed)
    TE = 30;
    
    % Write out .RAW files for LCModel usage
    io_writelcm(in_suppressed, '/Users/SH7437/Desktop/suppressed.raw', TE);
    io_writelcm(in_unsuppressed, '/Users/SH7437/Desktop/unsuppressed.raw', TE);
    

Key Points

  • The function io_loadspec_rda reads the RDA file

  • The function io_writelcm writes the data into the .RAW format needed by LCModel

  • Adjust the TE (echo time) as per your experimental settings