title: Feature-based morphometry.
abstract: This paper presents feature-based morphometry (FBM), a new, fully data-driven technique for identifying group-related differences in volumetric imagery. In contrast to most morphometry methods which assume one-to-one correspondence between all subjects, FBM models images as a collage of distinct, localized image features which may not be present in all subjects. FBM thus explicitly accounts for the case where the same anatomical tissue cannot be reliably identified in all subjects due to disease or anatomical variability. A probabilistic model describes features in terms of their appearance, geometry, and relationship to subgroups of a population, and is automatically learned from a set of subject images and group labels. Features identified indicate group-related anatomical structure that can potentially be used as disease biomarkers or as a basis for computer-aided diagnosis. Scale-invariant image features are used, which reflect generic, salient patterns in the image. Experiments validate FBM clinically in the analysis of normal (NC) and Alzheimer's (AD) brain images using the freely available OASIS database. FBM automatically identifies known structural differences between NC and AD subjects in a fully data-driven fashion, and obtains an equal error classification rate of 0.78 on new subjects.
authors.affiliation: Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, USA. mt@bwh.harvard.edu
authors.forename: Matthew
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Toews
authors.forename: William M
authors.initials: WM
authors.lastname: Wells
authors.forename: D Louis
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Collins
authors.forename: Tal
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Arbel
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000473:pathology*; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology*; D003198:Computer Simulation; D038524:Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D007089:Image Enhancement / Q000379:methods; D007090:Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods*; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional / Q000379:methods; D008953:Models, Anatomic; D008954:Models, Biological; D010363:Pattern Recognition, Automated / Q000379:methods*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity