An Approach for Intersubject Analysis of 3D Brain Images Based on Conformal Geometry

Recent advances in imaging technologies, such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), positron emission tomography (PET) and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) have accelerated brain research in many aspects. In order to better understand the synergy of the many processes involved in normal brain function, integrated modeling and analysis of MRI, PET, and DTI across subjects is highly desirable. The current state-of-art computational tools fall short in offering an analytic approach for intersubject brain registration and analysis. In this paper we present an approach which is based on landmark constrained conformal parameterization of a brain surface from high-resolution structural MRI data to a canonical spherical domain. This model allows natural integration of information from co-registered PET as well as DTI data and lays a foundation for the quantitative analysis of the relationship among diverse datasets across subjects. Consequently, the approach can be extended to provide a software environment able to facilitate detection of abnormal functional brain patterns in patients with neurological disorder.