Group Statistics of DTI Fiber Bundles Using Spatial Functions of Tensor Measures

We present a framework for hypothesis testing of differences between groups of DTI fiber tracts. An anatomical, tract-oriented coordinate system provides a basis for estimating the distribution of diffusion properties. The parametrization of sampled, smooth functions is normalized across a population using DTI atlas building. Functional data analysis, an extension of multivariate statistics to continuous functions is applied to the problem of hypothesis testing and discrimination. B-spline models of fractional anisotropy (FA) and Frobenius norm measures are analyzed jointly. Plots of the discrimination direction provide a clinical interpretation of the group differences. The methodology is tested on a pediatric study of subjects aged one and two years.

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2008
• Where: MICCAI
• Authors: Casey Goodlett, P. Thomas Fletcher, John H. Gilmore, Guido Gerig
• Keywords: DTI Atlas Building, DTI Fiber Tracts, Frobenius Norm Measures, Medical Imaging, MICCAI 2008