White matter atlas generation using HARDI based automated parcellation

Most diffusion imaging studies have used subject registration to an atlas space for enhanced quantification of anatomy. However, standard diffusion tensor atlases lack information in regions of fiber crossing and are based on adult anatomy. The degree of error associated with applying these atlases to studies of children for example has not yet been estimated but may lead to suboptimal results. This paper describes a novel technique for generating population-specific high angular resolution diffusion imaging (HARDI)-based atlases consisting of labeled regions of homogenous white matter. Our approach uses a fiber orientation distribution (FOD) diffusion model and a data driven clustering algorithm. White matter regional labeling is achieved by our automated data driven clustering algorithm that has the potential to delineate white matter regions based on fiber complexity and orientation. The advantage of such an atlas is that it is study specific and more comprehensive in describing regions of white matter homogeneity as compared to standard anatomical atlases. We have applied this state of the art technique to a dataset consisting of adolescent and preadolescent children, creating one of the first examples of a HARDI-based atlas, thereby establishing the feasibility of the atlas creation framework. The white matter regions generated by our automated clustering algorithm have lower FOD variance than when compared to the regions created from a standard anatomical atlas.