A stochastic tractography system and applications

Neuroscientists hypothesize that the pathologies of some neurological diseases are associated with neuroanatomical abnormalities. Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) and stochastic tractography allow us to investigate white matter architecture non-invasively through measurements of water self diffusion throughout the brain. Many comparative studies of white matter architecture utilize spatially localized comparisons of diffusion characteristics. White matter tractography enables studies of fiber bundle characteristics. Stochastic tractography facilitates these investigations by providing a measure of confidence regarding the inferred fiber bundles. This thesis presents an implementation of an easy to use, open-source stochastic tractography system that will enable novel studies of fiber tract abnormalities. We demonstrate an application of the system on real DTI images and discuss possible studies of frontal lobe fiber differences in Schizophrenia.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2007

Author dc:creator

• Ngo, Tri M. (Tri Minh)

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Polina Golland and Carl-Fredrik Westin.

• Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/41652

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/41652