Brain Imaging for Diagnosis of Schizophrenia: Challenges, Successes and a Research Road Map

Valid diagnosis of Schizophrenia continues to be a difficult task. Diagnosis tools based on new developments in brain imaging are not yet a part of accepted Schizophrenia diagnosis criteria. This paper presents some of the challenges involved, some of the progress made, and an approach entitled Tract-Based Spacial Statistics (TBSS) which intends to avoid many of the issues of traditional voxel-based morphometry, region of interest, and tractography approaches to brain image analysis. A parallel machine architecture is also proposed to help meet the computational needs of Tract-Based Spacial Statistics.