Abstract
Atlas-based MRI analysis is one of many analytical methods and is used to investigate typical as well as abnormal neurodevelopment. It has been widely applied to the adult and pediatric populations. Successful applications of atlas-based analysis (ABA) in those cohorts have motivated the creation of a neonatal atlas and parcellation map (PM). The purpose of this review is to discuss the various neonatal diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) atlases that are available for use in ABA, examine how such atlases are constructed, review their applications, and discuss future directions in DTI. Neonatal DTI atlases are created from a template, which can be study-specific or standardized, and merged with the corresponding PM. Study-specific templates can retain higher image registration accuracy, but are usually not applicable across different studies. However, standardized templates can be used to make comparisons among various studies, but may not accurately reflect the anatomies of the study population. Methods such as volume-based template estimation are being developed to overcome these limitations. The applications for ABA, including atlas-based image quantification and atlas-based connectivity analysis, vary from quantifying neurodevelopmental progress to analyzing population differences in groups of neonates. ABA can also be applied to detect pathology related to prematurity at birth or exposure to toxic substances. Future directions for this method include research designed to increase the accuracy of the image parcellation. Methods such as multi-atlas label fusion and multi-modal analysis applied to neonatal DTI currently comprise an active field of research. Moreover, ABA can be used in high-throughput analysis to efficiently process medical images and to assess longitudinal brain changes. The overarching goal of neonatal ABA is application to the clinical setting, to assist with diagnoses, monitor disease progression and, ultimately, outcome prediction.
Highlights
Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) is a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) modality that exploits the water diffusion (Brownian motion of water molecules) to compute a tensor, from which various parameters can be calculated
Among various MRI modalities based on water diffusion, DTI can be acquired in short scan times with relatively higher signal-to-noise ratio, which is advantageous in clinical studies or studies of babies and the pediatric population, because such short DTI scans minimizes the potential motion that often occur during longer scans, which is prevalent in individuals with illnesses or in infants and children
The atlas-based analysis (ABA) has been applied to DTI of pediatric and adult populations to investigate normal neurodevelopment as well as the abnormalities caused by various diseases, such as cerebral palsy (Faria et al, 2010; Yoshida et al, 2013), Williams syndrome (Faria et al, 2012b), and Rett syndrome (Oishi et al, 2013)
Summary
Reviewed by: Antonio Di Ieva, Macquarie University Hospital, Australia Olga Tymofiyeva, University of California, San Francisco, USA. Standardized templates can be used to make comparisons among various studies, but may not accurately reflect the anatomies of the study population Methods such as volume-based template estimation are being developed to overcome these limitations. The applications for ABA, including atlas-based image quantification and atlas-based connectivity analysis, vary from quantifying neurodevelopmental progress to analyzing population differences in groups of neonates. ABA can be applied to detect pathology related to prematurity at birth or exposure to toxic substances Future directions for this method include research designed to increase the accuracy of the image parcellation. Methods such as multi-atlas label fusion and multi-modal analysis applied to neonatal DTI currently comprise an active field of research.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
