title: Robust atlas-based brain segmentation using multi-structure confidence-weighted registration.
abstract: We present a robust and accurate atlas-based brain segmentation method which uses multiple initial structure segmentations to simultaneously drive the image registration and achieve anatomically constrained correspondence. We also derive segmentation confidence maps (SCMs) from a given manually segmented training set; these characterize the accuracy of a given set of segmentations as compared to manual segmentations. We incorporate these in our cost term to weight the influence of initial segmentations in the multi-structure registration, such that low confidence regions are given lower weight in the registration. To account for correspondence errors in the underlying registration, we use a supervised atlas correction technique and present a method for correcting the atlas segmentation to account for possible errors in the underlying registration. We applied our multi-structure atlas-based segmentation and supervised atlas correction to segment the amygdala in a set of 23 autistic patients and controls using leave-one-out cross validation, achieving a Dice overlap score of 0.84. We also applied our method to eight subcortical structures in MRI from the Internet Brain Segmentation Repository, with results better or comparable to competing methods.
authors.affiliation: School of Engineering Science, Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby BC, V5A 1S6, Canada. akhanf@sfu.ca
authors.forename: Ali R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Khan
authors.forename: Moo K
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Chung
authors.forename: Mirza Faisal
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Beg
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D001185:Artificial Intelligence; D001921:Brain / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D003627:Data Interpretation, Statistical; D006801:Humans; D007089:Image Enhancement / Q000379:methods; D007090:Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods*; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional / Q000379:methods*; D016247:Information Storage and Retrieval / Q000379:methods*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D010363:Pattern Recognition, Automated / Q000379:methods*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013382:Subtraction Technique