title: Topological correction of brain surface meshes using spherical harmonics.
abstract: A brain surface reconstruction allows advanced analysis of structural and functional brain data that is not possible using volumetric data alone. However, the generation of a brain surface mesh from MRI data often introduces topological defects and artifacts that must be corrected. We show that it is possible to accurately correct these errors using spherical harmonics. Our results clearly demonstrate that brain surface meshes reconstructed using spherical harmonics are free from topological defects and large artifacts that were present in the uncorrected brain surface. Visual inspection reveals that the corrected surfaces are of very high quality. The spherical harmonic surfaces are also quantitatively validated by comparing the surfaces to an "ideal" brain based on a manually corrected average of twelve scans of the same subject. In conclusion, the spherical harmonics approach is a direct, computationally fast method to correct topological errors.
authors.affiliation: Friedrich-Schiller University, Department of Psychiatry, Jahnstr. 3, 07745 Jena, Germany. Rachel.Yotter@uni-jena.de
authors.forename: Rachel Aine
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Yotter
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Dahnke
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gaser
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D016477:Artifacts; D001921:Brain / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D006801:Humans; D007089:Image Enhancement / Q000379:methods; D007090:Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods*; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional / Q000379:methods*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D010363:Pattern Recognition, Automated / Q000379:methods*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity