Measuring the cortical thickness [MRI segmentation procedure]

Besides normal aging, a number of brain diseases are known to reduce the amount of grey matter in the brain. To better understand the nature and progression of these disease processes, quantitative measurements of relevant brain structures, such as the regional cortical thickness, are highly desirable. Starting from high resolution volumetric MR images of the human head, a reliable segmentation procedure for the grey matter compartment is described which allows thickness measurements at sub-voxel resolution. Simulation experiments and comparisons with published data from histological examinations prove the validity of results