Integrated parcellation and normalization using DTI fasciculography

Abstract

Existing methods for fiber tracking, interactive bundling and editing from Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Images (DMRI) reconstruct white matter fascicles using groups of virtual pathways. Classical numerical fibers suffer from image noise and cumulative tracking errors. 3D visualization of bundles of fibers reveals structural connectivity of the brain; however, extensive human intervention, tracking variations and errors in fiber sampling make quantitative fascicle comparison difficult. To simplify the process and offer standardized white matter samples for analysis, we propose a new integrated fascicle parcellation and normalization method that combines a generic parametrized volumetric tract model with orientation information from diffusion images. The new technique offers a tract-derived spatial parameter for each voxel within the model. Cross-subject statistics of tract data can be compared easily based on these parameters. Our implementation demonstrated interactive speed and is available to the public in a packaged application. © 2011 Springer-Verlag.