Accurate segmentation of the subcortical structures is frequently required in neuroimaging studies. Most existing methods use only a T1-weighted MRI volume to segment all supported structures and usually rely on a database of training data. We propose a new method that can use multiple image modalities simultaneously and a single reference segmentation for initialisation, without the need for a manually labelled training set. The method models intensity profiles in multiple images around the boundaries of the structure after nonlinear registration. It is trained using a set of unlabelled training data, which may be the same images that are to be segmented, and it can automatically infer the location of the physical boundary using user-specified priors. We show that the method produces high-quality segmentations of the striatum, which is clearly visible on T1-weighted scans, and the globus pallidus, which has poor contrast on such scans. The method compares favourably to existing methods, showing greater overlap with manual segmentations and better consistency.
10.1016/j.neuroimage.2015.10.013
Journal article
Neuroimage
15/01/2016
125
479 - 497
Brain, Globus pallidus, Huntington, Multimodal, Segmentation, Striatum, Adult, Algorithms, Brain Mapping, Corpus Striatum, Female, Globus Pallidus, Humans, Image Processing, Computer-Assisted, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Models, Neurological, Neuronavigation, Pattern Recognition, Automated