title: Longitudinal measurement of the developing thalamus in the preterm brain using multi-modal MRI.
abstract: Preterm birth is a significant public health concern. For infants born very preterm (≤ 32 weeks completed gestation), there is a high instance of developmental disability. Due to the heterogeneity of patient outcomes, it is important to investigate early markers of future ability to provide effective and targeted intervention. As a neuronal relay centre, the thalamus is critical for effective cognitive function and, thus, development of white matter connections between the thalamus and cortex is vital. By non-invasively examining the state of the thalamus we can monitor development in the preterm period. To track the development we develop a novel registration technique to combine data from multiple modalities, in order to derive the transformation from a preterm scan, to a scan of the same infant at term-equivalent age. By measuring the changes in diffusion parameters over this period on a per-voxel basis, we hope to provide unique insight into neurodevelopment.
authors.forename: Zach
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Eaton-Rosen
authors.forename: Andrew
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Melbourne
authors.forename: Eliza
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Orasanu
authors.forename: Marc
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Modat
authors.forename: Manuel Jorge
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Cardoso
authors.forename: Alan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bainbridge
authors.forename: Giles S
authors.initials: GS
authors.lastname: Kendall
authors.forename: Nicola J
authors.initials: NJ
authors.lastname: Robertson
authors.forename: Neil
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Marlow
authors.forename: Sébastien
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ourselin
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging / Q000473:pathology*; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology*; D056324:Diffusion Tensor Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D066128:Gray Matter / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D007234:Infant, Premature; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D064847:Multimodal Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D009413:Nerve Fibers, Myelinated / Q000473:pathology*; D010363:Pattern Recognition, Automated / Q000379:methods*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013788:Thalamus / Q000473:pathology*