title: A Structural Parametrization of the Brain Using Hidden Markov Models-Based Paths in Alzheimer's Disease.
abstract: The usage of biomedical imaging in the diagnosis of dementia is increasingly widespread. A number of works explore the possibilities of computational techniques and algorithms in what is called computed aided diagnosis. Our work presents an automatic parametrization of the brain structure by means of a path generation algorithm based on hidden Markov models (HMMs). The path is traced using information of intensity and spatial orientation in each node, adapting to the structure of the brain. Each path is itself a useful way to characterize the distribution of the tissue inside the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) image by, for example, extracting the intensity levels at each node or generating statistical information of the tissue distribution. Additionally, a further processing consisting of a modification of the grey level co-occurrence matrix (GLCM) can be used to characterize the textural changes that occur throughout the path, yielding more meaningful values that could be associated to Alzheimer's disease (AD), as well as providing a significant feature reduction. This methodology achieves moderate performance, up to 80.3% of accuracy using a single path in differential diagnosis involving Alzheimer-affected subjects versus controls belonging to the Alzheimer's disease neuroimaging initiative (ADNI).
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Signal Theory, Networking and Communications, University of Granada, Granada 18071, Spain.
authors.forename: Francisco J
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: Martinez-Murcia
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Signal Theory, Networking and Communications, University of Granada, Granada 18071, Spain.
authors.forename: Juan M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Górriz
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Signal Theory, Networking and Communications, University of Granada, Granada 18071, Spain.
authors.forename: Javier
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ramírez
authors.affiliation: 2 Department of Communications Engineering, University of Malaga, Malaga, Spain.
authors.forename: Andres
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ortiz
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000465:Algorithms; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D001921:Brain / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D016208:Databases, Factual; D006801:Humans; D007090:Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods*; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional / Q000379:methods*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D008390:Markov Chains; D010363:Pattern Recognition, Automated / Q000379:methods*; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
keywords: MRI; feature extraction; hidden Markov models; spherical brain mapping; texture features