Fully automated segmentation of the pons and midbrain using human T1 MR brain images.
OBJECTIVE
This paper describes a novel method to automatically segment the human brainstem into midbrain and pons, called labs: Landmark-based Automated Brainstem Segmentation. LABS processes high-resolution structural magnetic resonance images (MRIs) according to a revised landmark-based approach integrated with a thresholding method, without manual interaction.


METHODS
This method was first tested on morphological T1-weighted MRIs of 30 healthy subjects. Its reliability was further confirmed by including neurological patients (with Alzheimer's Disease) from the ADNI repository, in whom the presence of volumetric loss within the brainstem had been previously described. Segmentation accuracies were evaluated against expert-drawn manual delineation. To evaluate the quality of LABS segmentation we used volumetric, spatial overlap and distance-based metrics.


RESULTS
The comparison between the quantitative measurements provided by LABS against manual segmentations revealed excellent results in healthy controls when considering either the midbrain (DICE measures higher that 0.9; Volume ratio around 1 and Hausdorff distance around 3) or the pons (DICE measures around 0.93; Volume ratio ranging 1.024-1.05 and Hausdorff distance around 2). Similar performances were detected for AD patients considering segmentation of the pons (DICE measures higher that 0.93; Volume ratio ranging from 0.97-0.98 and Hausdorff distance ranging 1.07-1.33), while LABS performed lower for the midbrain (DICE measures ranging 0.86-0.88; Volume ratio around 0.95 and Hausdorff distance ranging 1.71-2.15).


CONCLUSIONS
Our study represents the first attempt to validate a new fully automated method for in vivo segmentation of two anatomically complex brainstem subregions. We retain that our method might represent a useful tool for future applications in clinical practice.
Institute of Bioimaging and Molecular Physiology, National Research Council, Catanzaro, Italy.
Salvatore
S
Nigro
Institute of Bioimaging and Molecular Physiology, National Research Council, Catanzaro, Italy ; Institute of Neurology, University "Magna Graecia", Catanzaro, Italy.
Antonio
A
Cerasa
Laboratory of Electrophysiology for Translational Neuroscience, National Research Council, Rome, Italy ; Department of Clinical Neuroscience, 'S. Giovanni Calibita' Fatebenefratelli Hospital, Rome, Italy.
Giancarlo
G
Zito
Institute of Bioimaging and Molecular Physiology, National Research Council, Catanzaro, Italy.
Paolo
P
Perrotta
Evolutionary Systems Group, University of Calabria, Cosenza, Italy.
Francesco
F
Chiaravalloti
Institute of Bioimaging and Molecular Physiology, National Research Council, Catanzaro, Italy.
Giulia
G
Donzuso
Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, University "Magna Graecia", Catanzaro, Italy.
Franceso
F
Fera
Evolutionary Systems Group, University of Calabria, Cosenza, Italy.
Eleonora
E
Bilotta
Evolutionary Systems Group, University of Calabria, Cosenza, Italy.
Pietro
P
Pantano
Institute of Bioimaging and Molecular Physiology, National Research Council, Catanzaro, Italy ; Institute of Neurology, University "Magna Graecia", Catanzaro, Italy.
Aldo
A
Quattrone
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000465:Algorithms; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008636:Mesencephalon / Q000473:pathology; D008875:Middle Aged; D010363:Pattern Recognition, Automated; D011149:Pons / Q000473:pathology; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D055815:Young Adult