title: ASAP (Automatic Software for ASL Processing): A toolbox for processing Arterial Spin Labeling images.
abstract: The method of Arterial Spin Labeling (ASL) has experienced a significant rise in its application to functional imaging, since it is the only technique capable of measuring blood perfusion in a truly non-invasive manner. Currently, there are no commercial packages for processing ASL data and there is no recognized standard for normalizing ASL data to a common frame of reference. This work describes a new Automated Software for ASL Processing (ASAP) that can automatically process several ASL datasets. ASAP includes functions for all stages of image pre-processing: quantification, skull-stripping, co-registration, partial volume correction and normalization. To assess the applicability and validity of the toolbox, this work shows its application in the study of hypoperfusion in a sample of healthy subjects at risk of progressing to Alzheimer's disease. ASAP requires limited user intervention, minimizing the possibility of random and systematic errors, and produces cerebral blood flow maps that are ready for statistical group analysis. The software is easy to operate and results in excellent quality of spatial normalization. The results found in this evaluation study are consistent with previous studies that find decreased perfusion in Alzheimer's patients in similar regions and demonstrate the applicability of ASAP.
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Análisis de Imagen Médica y Biometría (LAIMBIO), Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Mostoles, Madrid, Spain. Electronic address: virginia.mato@urjc.es.
authors.forename: Virginia
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Mato Abad
authors.affiliation: M+Visión Advanced Fellowship, Medical Imaging Laboratory, Hospital Universitario de Fuenlabrada, Fuenlabrada, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Pablo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: García-Polo
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuroimaging, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, London, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Owen
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: O'Daly
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Análisis de Imagen Médica y Biometría (LAIMBIO), Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Mostoles, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Juan Antonio
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Hernández-Tamames
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuroimaging, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, London, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Fernando
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Zelaya
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000503:physiopathology; D001331:Automation; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology; D001931:Brain Mapping / Q000379:methods; D002560:Cerebrovascular Circulation; D003196:Computer Graphics; D005260:Female; D064368:Healthy Volunteers; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional; D020407:Internet; D008297:Male; D016011:Normal Distribution; D010363:Pattern Recognition, Automated / Q000379:methods*; D010477:Perfusion; D011336:Probability; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012984:Software; D013113:Spin Labels
chemical_list: D013113:Spin Labels
keywords: Alzheimer's disease; Arterial Spin Labeling; Automatic processing; Cerebral blood flow; Partial volume effect