Automated white matter fiber tract identification in patients with brain tumors

O'Donnell L. J., Suter Y., Rigolo L., Kahali P., Zhang F., Norton I., ...More

NEUROIMAGE-CLINICAL, vol.13, pp.138-153, 2017 (SCI-Expanded) identifier identifier identifier

  • Publication Type: Article / Article
  • Volume: 13
  • Publication Date: 2017
  • Doi Number: 10.1016/j.nicl.2016.11.023
  • Journal Name: NEUROIMAGE-CLINICAL
  • Journal Indexes: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus
  • Page Numbers: pp.138-153
  • Keywords: Neurosurgery, Diffusion MRI, Tractography, Tumor, Fiber tract, White matter, DIFFUSION MRI TRACTOGRAPHY, ARCUATE FASCICULUS, IN-VIVO, LONGITUDINAL FASCICULUS, CORTICAL STIMULATION, SPHERICAL-DECONVOLUTION, CORTICOSPINAL TRACT, LANGUAGE PATHWAYS, RECONSTRUCTION, VISUALIZATION
  • Akdeniz University Affiliated: Yes

Abstract

We propose a method for the automated identification of key white matter fiber tracts for neurosurgical planning, and we apply the method in a retrospective study of 18 consecutive neurosurgical patients with brain tumors. Our method is designed to be relatively robust to challenges in neurosurgical tractography, which include peritumoral edema, displacement, and mass effect caused by mass lesions. The proposed method has two parts. First, we learn a data-driven white matter parcellation or fiber cluster atlas using groupwise registration and spectral clustering of multi-fiber tractography from healthy controls. Key fiber tract clusters are identified in the atlas. Next, patient-specific fiber tracts are automatically identified using tractography-based registration to the atlas and spectral embedding of patient tractography.