A Sensitive and Automatic White Matter Fiber Tracts Model for Longitudinal Analysis of Diffusion Tensor Images in Multiple Sclerosis

PLoS One. 2016 May 25;11(5):e0156405. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0156405. eCollection 2016.

Abstract

Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) is a sensitive tool for the assessment of microstructural alterations in brain white matter (WM). We propose a new processing technique to detect, local and global longitudinal changes of diffusivity metrics, in homologous regions along WM fiber-bundles. To this end, a reliable and automatic processing pipeline was developed in three steps: 1) co-registration and diffusion metrics computation, 2) tractography, bundle extraction and processing, and 3) longitudinal fiber-bundle analysis. The last step was based on an original Gaussian mixture model providing a fine analysis of fiber-bundle cross-sections, and allowing a sensitive detection of longitudinal changes along fibers. This method was tested on simulated and clinical data. High levels of F-Measure were obtained on simulated data. Experiments on cortico-spinal tract and inferior fronto-occipital fasciculi of five patients with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) included in a weekly follow-up protocol highlighted the greater sensitivity of this fiber scale approach to detect small longitudinal alterations.

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Automation, Laboratory
  • Brain Mapping
  • Diffusion Tensor Imaging / methods*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted / methods*
  • Image Processing, Computer-Assisted
  • Longitudinal Studies
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Multiple Sclerosis / diagnostic imaging*
  • Multiple Sclerosis / pathology
  • White Matter / diagnostic imaging
  • White Matter / pathology*
  • Young Adult

Grants and funding

Claudio Stamile is funded by an EU-funded FP7-PEOPLE- 2012-ITN project 316679 TRANSACT. This work is supported by the French National Research Agency (ANR) within the national program “Investissements d’Avenir” through the OFSEP project (ANR-10-COHO-002) and the LABEX PRIMES (ANR-11-LABX-0063) of Lyon University (ANR-11-IDEX-0007). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.