Higher Order Kernels and Locally Affine LDDMM Registration

Abstract. To achieve sparse description that allows intuitive analysis, we aim to represent deformation with a basis containing interpretable elements, and we wish to use elements that have the description capacity to represent the deformation compactly. We accomplish this by introducing higher order kernels in the LDDMM registration framework. The kernels allow local description of affine transformations and subsequent compact description of non-translational movement and of the entire non-rigid deformation. This is obtained with a representation that contains directly interpretable information from both mathematical and modeling perspectives. We develop the mathematical construction behind the higher order kernels, we show the implications for sparse image registration and deformation description, and we provide examples of how the capacity of the kernels enables registration with a very low number of parameters. The capacity and interpretability of the kernels lead to natural modeling of articulated movement, and the kernels promise to be useful for quantifying ventricle expansion and progressing atrophy during Alzheimer’s disease.