Abstract #0135

Creation of a Population-Representative Brain Atlas with Clear Anatomical Definition

Yajing Zhang¹, Jiangyang Zhang², Jun Ma³, Kenichi Oishi², Andreia V. Faria², Michael I. Miller^1,3, Susumu Mori^2,4

¹Department of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA; ²Department of Radiology & Radiological Science, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA; ³Center for Imaging Science, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA; ⁴F. M. Kirby Research Center for Functional Brain Imaging, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD, USA

An MR based brain atlas is a key component in modern image analysis process. In this study, a population averaged brain atlas was generated from 20 subject MRI/DTI data using a continuous fluid dynamic model based on image metric distance. This estimated atlas presents a group averaged shape that minimize its anatomical bias while preserves sharp image contrast for accurate structure delineation and image mapping. The characteristics of the estimated atlas were examined with respect to a single subject atlas and two group averaged atlases.