Automatic volumetric measurement of segmented brain structures on magnetic resonance imaging.
OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study was to produce a fully automatic volumetric segmented brain image system (AVSIS) and to evaluate its utility for measuring hippocampal volumes and total intracranial volume (TIV).


METHODS
We developed a combination technique comprising an anatomical standardization technique to measure TIV, whole brain volume (WBV), and hippocampal volume obtained by magnetic resonance (MR) imaging. Altogether, 15 healthy volunteers and 15 patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) underwent three-dimensional spoiled gradient echo (3D-SPGR) imaging. Three measurements were performed by manual volumetry as the gold standard, a previous semiautomatic method, and our new method, AVSIS.


RESULTS
WBV and hippocampal volume in the AD group were significantly smaller than those in the healthy volunteer group measured by the semiautomatic method, manual method, and AVSIS. Each volume measured by AVSIS or semiautomatic method correlated with that measured by the manual method. The correlation coefficients between TIVs, WBVs, or hippocampal volumes measured by AVSIS and the manual method were 0.910, 0.902, and 0.918, respectively; the correlation coefficients between TIVs, or WBVs, measured by the previous semiautomatic method and the manual method were 0.875, and 0.886, respectively.


CONCLUSIONS
We developed a system for a fully automatic measurement of segmented brain structures and obtained good results.
Ishii
Kazunari
K
Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Hyogo Brain and Heart Center, 520 Saisho-Ko, Himeji, Hyogo 670-0981, Japan. kishii@hbhc.jp
Soma
Tsutomu
T
Kono
Atsushi K
AK
Sasaki
Hiroki
H
Miyamoto
Naokazu
N
Fukuda
Tetsuya
T
Murase
Kenya
K
D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000465:Algorithms; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000175:diagnosis; D001921:Brain / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000502:physiology; D001931:Brain Mapping; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D001330:Electronic Data Processing / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D007564:Japan; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged