Sensitivity and reproducibility of a new fast 3D segmentation technique for clinical MR-based brain volumetry in multiple sclerosis

Fast, reliable and easy-to-use methods to quantify brain atrophy are of increasing importance in clinical studies on neuro-degenerative diseases. Here, ILAB 4, a new volumetry software that uses a fast semi-automated 3D segmentation of thin-slice T1-weighted 3D MR images based on a modified watershe...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Neuroradiology 2004-11, Vol.46 (11), p.906-915
Main Authors: LUKAS, Carsten, HAHN, Horst K, BELLENBERG, Barbara, REXILIUS, Jan, SCHMID, Gebhard, SCHIMRIGK, Sebastian K, PRZUNTEK, Horst, KÖSTER, Odo, PEITGEN, Heinz-Otto
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
3-D graphics
Adult
Biological and medical sciences
Brain
Brain - pathology
Degenerative and inherited degenerative diseases of the nervous system. Leukodystrophies. Prion diseases
Female
Humans
Image Processing, Computer-Assisted
Imaging, Three-Dimensional
Investigative techniques, diagnostic techniques (general aspects)
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Male
Medical sciences
Multiple sclerosis
Multiple Sclerosis - pathology
Nervous system
Nervous system involvement in other diseases. Miscellaneous
Neurology
Organ Size
Radiodiagnosis. Nmr imagery. Nmr spectrometry
Reproducibility of Results
Sensitivity and Specificity
Software
Software Validation
Time Factors
User-Computer Interface
Volumetric analysis
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Summary:Fast, reliable and easy-to-use methods to quantify brain atrophy are of increasing importance in clinical studies on neuro-degenerative diseases. Here, ILAB 4, a new volumetry software that uses a fast semi-automated 3D segmentation of thin-slice T1-weighted 3D MR images based on a modified watershed transform and an automatic histogram analysis was evaluated. It provides the cerebral volumes: whole brain, white matter, gray matter and intracranial cavity. Inter- and intra-rater reliability and scan-rescan reproducibility were excellent in measuring whole brain volumes (coefficients of variation below 0.5%) of volunteers and patients. However, gray and white matter volumes were more susceptible to image quality. High accuracy of the absolute volume results (+/-5 ml) were shown by phantom and preparation measurements. Analysis times were 6 min for processing of 128 slices. The proposed technique is reliable and highly suitable for quantitative studies of brain atrophy, e.g., in multiple sclerosis.
ISSN:0028-3940
1432-1920
DOI:10.1007/s00234-004-1282-3