An Interface for Analyzing and Integrating Different Sensory Modalities

This MATLAB interface is aimed at analyzing and integrating two different imaging modalities optical topography system (OTS) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). MRI provides information about the anatomical structure of the brain, while OTS displays the changes in the cerebral blood flow in the form of a topographic image. Eight subjects underwent an MRI and OTS exams at Miami Children’s Hospital, during which an anatomical MRI images and optical topographic maps were acquired. In order to map the motor functional areas in the brain, a functional experiment is performed by using OTS and is based on a repeated finger tapping task alternated with relaxed states. The developed interface displays a sequence of 2D topographic maps depicting the finger tapping experiment in a form of a movie. Moreover, it displays the anatomical MRI slices in different views (2D-3D): transaxial, sagittal, coronal; and 3D head model constructed from the anatomical MRI slices. Therefore the 2-D videos now extend to 3-D videos of the topographic maps that can be projected on 3-D head models or on the cortical surface of the brain. The interface integrates both modalities MRI-OTS in 3D revealing excellent prospects in localizing the functional activation change that is seen by OTS on the brain model. The proposed interface integrates an important visualization platform for neuroscience studies, assisting as a consequence neurosurgeons to localize key functional regions in the brain. Key-words: Optical Topography (OT), Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), OT-MRI Integration