title: A prototype representation to approximate white matter bundles with weighted currents.
abstract: Quantitative and qualitative analysis of white matter fibers resulting from tractography algorithms is made difficult by their huge number. To this end, we propose an approximation scheme which gives as result a more concise but at the same time exhaustive representation of a fiber bundle. It is based on a novel computational model for fibers, called weighted currents, characterised by a metric that considers both the pathway and the anatomical locations of the endpoints of the fibers. Similarity has therefore a twofold connotation: geometrical and related to the connectivity. The core idea is to use this metric for approximating a fiber bundle with a set of weighted prototypes, chosen among the fibers, which represent ensembles of similar fibers. The weights are related to the fibers represented b y t he prototypes. The algorithm is divided into two steps. First, the main modes of the fiber bundle are detected using a modularity based clustering algorithm. Second, a prototype fiber selection process is carried on in each cluster separately. This permits to explain the main patterns of the fiber bundle in a fast and accurate way.
authors.forename: Pietro
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Gori
authors.forename: Olivier
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Colliot
authors.forename: Linda
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Marrakchi-Kacem
authors.forename: Yulia
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Worbe
authors.forename: Fallani Fabrizio
authors.initials: FF
authors.lastname: De Vico
authors.forename: Mario
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Chavez
authors.forename: Sophie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lecomte
authors.forename: Cyril
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Poupon
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hartmann
authors.forename: Nicholas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ayache
authors.forename: Stanley
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Durrleman
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D001921:Brain / Q000166:cytology*; D003198:Computer Simulation; D063132:Connectome / Q000379:methods*; 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*; D015233:Models, Statistical; D009413:Nerve Fibers, Myelinated / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D009716:Numerical Analysis, Computer-Assisted; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity