Title
Segmentation of fiber tracts based on an accuracy analysis on diffusion tensor software phantoms.
Abstract
Due to its unique sensitivity to tissue microstructure, one of the primary applications of diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging is the reconstruction of neural fiber pathways by means of fiber-tracking algorithms. In this work, we make use of realistic diffusion-tensor software phantoms in order to carry out an analysis of the precision of streamline tractography by systematically varying certain properties of the simulated image data (noise, tensor anisotropy, and image resolution) as well as certain fiber-tracking parameters (number of seed points and step length). Building upon the gained knowledge about the precision of the analyzed fiber-tracking algorithm, we proceed by suggesting a fuzzy segmentation algorithm for diffusion tensor images which better estimates the precise spatial extent of a tracked fiber bundle. The presented segmentation algorithm utilizes information given by the estimated main diffusion direction in a voxel and the respective uncertainty, and its validity is confirmed by both qualitative and quantitative analyses.
Year
DOI
Venue
2011
10.1016/j.neuroimage.2010.12.069
NeuroImage
Keywords
Field
DocType
Brain,Diffusion tensor imaging,Fiber-tracking,Noise,Software model,Fuzzy segmentation
Voxel,Diffusion MRI,Anisotropy,Tensor,Computer science,Cognitive psychology,Software,Artificial intelligence,Computer vision,Segmentation,Algorithm,Image resolution,Tractography
Journal
Volume
Issue
ISSN
55
2
1053-8119
Citations 
PageRank 
References 
7
0.51
14
Authors
5
Name
Order
Citations
PageRank
Sebastiano Barbieri1386.13
Miriam H A Bauer2414.71
Jan Klein39510.94
Christopher Nimsky446642.20
Horst K. Hahn545072.61