Longitudinal analysis framework of dwi data for reconstructing structural brain networks with application to multiple sclerosis

Abstract

We consider the problem of reconstructing brain networks in a longitudinal study, where diffusion-weighted and T1-weighted magnetic resonance images have been acquired at multiple time-points for the same subject. We introduce a method for registering diffusion-weighted and structural scans in a subject-specific half-way space and we demonstrate that half-way network metrics are strongly correlated with native network metrics. We also report sufficient agreement between the two techniques in a cohort comprising of healthy controls (n = 12) and multiple sclerosis patients (n = 12). The results remained unaffected when the analyses were evaluated in controls and patients separately. These study findings might be of particular interest in longitudinal structural network studies assessing network changes over time in normal and disease conditions.