title: A geometry-based particle filtering approach to white matter tractography.
abstract: We introduce a fibre tractography framework based on a particle filter which estimates a local geometrical model of the underlying white matter tract, formulated as a 'streamline flow' using generalized helicoids. The method is not dependent on the diffusion model, and is applicable to diffusion tensor (DT) data as well as to high angular resolution reconstructions. The geometrical model allows for a robust inference of local tract geometry, which, in the context of the causal filter estimation, guides tractography through regions with partial volume effects. We validate the method on synthetic data and present results on two types in vivo data: diffusion tensors and a spherical harmonic reconstruction of the fibre orientation distribution function (fODF).
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Savadjiev
authors.forename: Yogesh
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Rathi
authors.forename: James G
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Malcolm
authors.forename: Martha E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Shenton
authors.forename: Carl-Fredrik
authors.initials: CF
authors.lastname: Westin
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D016880:Anisotropy; D001921:Brain / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D056324:Diffusion Tensor Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D007089:Image Enhancement / Q000379:methods; D007090:Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods*; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional / Q000379:methods*; D009413:Nerve Fibers, Myelinated / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D010363:Pattern Recognition, Automated / Q000379:methods*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012815:Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted