Abstract
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Objectives We developed an automated ROI setting method using the anatomical 3D standardization module of the NEUROSTAT software package and its inverse transformation; this method includes the transformation of the pre-determined VOI template on the standardized brain coordinate onto the each of the original FDG-PET trans-axial images. In this study, we evaluated the applicability of this method together with VOI template on the brain functional areas and 3D-SSP tomographic analysis for the early and severity diagnoses of AD.
Methods The VOI templates on the brain function area were prepared by the conversion of the Talirach Daemon Atlas Level-2 and 3 areas into the NEUROSTAT coordinate with the masking-out of the ventricles and extra-axial areas. With the FDG-PET images of AD and MCI subjects, the automatically set ROIs were compared/evaluated with the Z-score obtained with the 3D-SSP tomographic analysis, and the ROIs were also visually compared with the MRI in terms of the brain function areas.
Results The automatically set ROIs were well identical with the AD symptomatic low perfusion areas, and they were also well coordinated with the targeted MRI functional areas.
Conclusions We found that this automated ROI setting method can be effectively applicable for early and severity diagnoses of AD with minimal loss of the anatomical information, and direct comparison/evaluation of the ROIs is possible with the Z-score mapping and MRI images of the identical regions.
- © 2009 by Society of Nuclear Medicine