Analysing the Cortical Folding Pattern of Very Preterm Neonates Scanned at Term-Equivalent Age: Correlations with Diffusion Tensor Tractography

Andrew Melbourne¹, Giles S. Kendall², Manuel J. Cardoso¹, Nicola J. Robertson², Neil Marlow², Sebastien Ourselin¹

Infants born prematurely are at increased risk of adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes. Independent advances suggest that measurement of white matter structure and cortical surface features can help in defining biomarkers for neurodevelopmental outcome. This work analyses 18high resolution T1-weighted term-equivalent MRI of very preterm neonates (<32weeks gestation) and corresponding diffusion tensor imaging (30 directions). This work develops a methodology to link the cortical folding pattern with the underlying white matter connection pattern, thus the spatial surface pattern might allow inference on the connectivity and thus the integrity of the deep grey matter.