We present a fully-automated technique for visualizing localized cerebral ventricle shape differences between large clinical subject groups who have received a magnetic resonance (MR) image scan. The technique combines a robust, automated technique for ventricular segmentation with a 3D surfacebased radial thickness mapping approach that allows spatiallylocalized statistical tests of relative shape differences between clinical groups. The technique is used to analyze localized ventricular expansion in Alzheimer's Disease (AD) and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) in a large cohort of communitydwelling elderly individuals (N=339). The resulting maps are the first to chart localized ventricular dilation in a cohort of this size. Besides showing patterns of ventricular expansion that may be consistent with the spatial progression of ADrelated pathology, the maps reveal new information about localized ventricular atrophy that may have been overlooked to date. A detailed understanding o...
Owen T. Carmichael, Paul M. Thompson, Rebecca A. D