Sensitivity and reproducibility of a new fast 3D segmentation technique for clinical MR-based brain volumetry in multiple sclerosis.
Fast, reliable and easy-to-use methods to quantify brain atrophy are of increasing importance in clinical studies on neuro-degenerative diseases. Here, ILAB 4, a new volumetry software that uses a fast semi-automated 3D segmentation of thin-slice T1-weighted 3D MR images based on a modified watershed transform and an automatic histogram analysis was evaluated. It provides the cerebral volumes: whole brain, white matter, gray matter and intracranial cavity. Inter- and intra-rater reliability and scan-rescan reproducibility were excellent in measuring whole brain volumes (coefficients of variation below 0.5%) of volunteers and patients. However, gray and white matter volumes were more susceptible to image quality. High accuracy of the absolute volume results (+/-5 ml) were shown by phantom and preparation measurements. Analysis times were 6 min for processing of 128 slices. The proposed technique is reliable and highly suitable for quantitative studies of brain atrophy, e.g., in multiple sclerosis.
Lukas
Carsten
C
Department of Neurology, St. Josef Hospital, Ruhr University, Gudrunstr. 56, 44791, Bochum, Germany. Carsten.Lukas@ruhr-uni-bochum.de
Hahn
Horst K
HK
Bellenberg
Barbara
B
Rexilius
Jan
J
Schmid
Gebhard
G
Schimrigk
Sebastian K
SK
Przuntek
Horst
H
Köster
Odo
O
Peitgen
Heinz-Otto
HO
D000328:Adult; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009103:Multiple Sclerosis / Q000473:pathology*; D009929:Organ Size; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012986:Software Validation; D013997:Time Factors; D014584:User-Computer Interface