Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Building a FP-CIT SPECT Brain Template Using a Posterization Approach

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Neuroinformatics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Spatial affine registration of brain images to a common template is usually performed as a preprocessing step in intersubject and intrasubject comparison studies, computer-aided diagnosis, region of interest selection and brain segmentation in tomography. Nevertheless, it is not straightforward to build a template of [123I]FP-CIT SPECT brain images because they exhibit very low intensity values outside the striatum. In this work, we present a procedure to automatically build a [123I]FP-CIT SPECT template in the standard Montreal Neurological Institute (MNI) space. The proposed methodology consists of a head voxel selection using the Otsu’s method, followed by a posterization of the source images to three different levels: background, head, and striatum. Analogously, we also design a posterized version of a brain image in the MNI space; subsequently, we perform a spatial affine registration of the posterized source images to this image. The intensity of the transformed images is normalized linearly, assuming that the histogram of the intensity values follows an alpha-stable distribution. Lastly, we build the [123I]FP-CIT SPECT template by means of the transformed and normalized images. The proposed methodology is a fully automatic procedure that has been shown to work accurately even when a high-resolution magnetic resonance image for each subject is not available.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8
Fig. 9
Fig. 10
Fig. 11

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Aarts, E., Helmich, R.C., Janssen, M.J., Oyen, W.J., Bloem, B.R., Cools, R. (2012). Aberrant reward processing in Parkinson’s disease is associated with dopamine cell loss. NeuroImage, 59(4), 3339–3346.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Aubert-Broche, B., Evans, A., Collins, L. (2006). A new improved version of the realistic digital brain phantom. NeuroImage, 32(1), 138–145.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Benamer, H.T.S., Patterson, J., Grosset, D.G., Booij, J., De Bruin, K., Van Royen, E., Speelman, J.D., Horstink, M H.I.M., Sips, H J.W.A., Dierckx, R.A., Versijpt, J., Decoo, D., Van Der Linden, C., Hadley, D.M., Doder, M., Lees, A.J., Costa, D.C., Gacinovic, S., Oertel, W.H., Pogarell, O., Hoeffken, H., Joseph, K., Tatsch, K., Schwarz, J., Ries, V. (2000). Accurate differentiation of parkinsonism and essential tremor using visual assessment of [123I]-FP-CIT SPECT imaging: The [123I]-FP-CIT study group. Movement Disorders, 15(3), 503–510.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Booij, J., Tissingh, G., Boer, G.J., Speelman, J.D., Stoof, J.C., Janssen, A.G.M., Wolters, E.C. (1997a). [123I]FP-CIT SPECT shows a pronounced decline of striatal dopamine transporter labelling in early and advanced Parkinson’s disease. Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery and Psychiatry, 62(2), 133–140.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Booij, J., Tissingh, G., Winogrodzka, A., Boer, G.J., Stoof, J.C., Wolters, E.C., Van Royen, E.A. (1997b). Practical benefit of [123I]FP-CIT SPECT in the demonstration of the dopaminergic deficit in Parkinson’s disease. European Journal of Nuclear Medicine, 24(1), 68–71.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Booij, J., Habraken, J.B.A., Bergmans, P., Tissingh, G., Winogrodzka, A., Wolters, E.C., Janssen, A.G.M., Stoof, J.C., Van Royen, E.A. (1998). Imaging of dopamine transporters with iodine-123-fp-cit spect in healthy controls and patients with parkinson’s disease. Journal of Nuclear Medicine, 39(11), 1879–1884.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Brett, M., Christoff, K., Cusack, R., Lancaster, J. (2001). Using the Talairach atlas with the MNI template. Neuroimage, 13(6), S85.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ciarmiello, A., Giovacchini, G., Guidotti, C., Meniconi, M., Lazzeri, P., Carabelli, E., Mansi, L., Mariani, G., Volterrani, D., Del Sette, M. (2013). Weighted registration of 123i-fp-cit spect images improves accuracy of binding potential estimates in pathologically low striatal uptake. Journal of Cellular Physiology, 228(10), 2086–2094.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Colloby, S.J., O’Brien, J.T., Fenwick, J.D., Firbank, M.J., Burn, D.J., McKeith, I.G., Williams, E.D. (2004). The application of statistical parametric mapping to 123I-FP-CIT SPECT in dementia with Lewy bodies, Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease. NeuroImage, 23(3), 956–966.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Colloby, S.J., Firbank, M.J., Pakrasi, S., Lloyd, J.J., Driver, I., McKeith, I.G., Williams, E.D., O’Brien, J.T. (2008). A comparison of 99mtc-exametazime and 123I-FP-CIT SPECT imaging in the differential diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia with Lewy bodies. International Psychogeriatrics, 20(6), 1124–1140.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cuberas-Borrós, G., Lorenzo-Bosquet, C., Aguad-Bruix, S., Hernndez-Vara, J., Pifarr-Montaner, P., Miquel, F., lvarez Sabin, J., Castell-Conesa, J. (2011). Quantitative evaluation of striatal I-123-FP-CIT uptake in essential tremor and Parkinsonism. Clinical Nuclear Medicine, 36(11), 991–996.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Della Rosa, P.A., Cerami, C., Gallivanone, F., Prestia, A., Caroli, A., Castiglioni, I., Gilardi, M.C., Frisoni, G., Giovanni, Friston K., Ashburner, J., Perani, D. (2014). A standardized [18F]-FDG-PET template for spatial normalization in statistical parametric mapping of dementia. Neuroinformatics, 1–19.

  • Fazio, L., Blasi, G., Taurisano, P., Papazacharias, A., Romano, R., Gelao, B., Ursini, G., Quarto, T., Lo Bianco, L., Di Giorgio, A., Mancini, M., Popolizio, T., Rubini, G., Bertolino, A. (2011). D2 receptor genotype and striatal dopamine signaling predict motor cortical activity and behavior in humans. NeuroImage, 54(4), 2915–2921.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Friston, K., Ashburner, J., Kiebel, S., Nichols, T., Penny, W. (Eds.) (2007). Statistical Parametric Mapping: The Analysis of Functional Brain Images: Academic Press.

  • van de Giessen, E., Hesse, S., Caan, M., Zientek, F., Dickson, J., Tossici-Bolt, L., Sera, T., Asenbaum, S., Guignard, R., Akdemir, U., Knudsen, G., Nobili, F., Pagani, M., Vander Borght, T., Van Laere, K., Varrone, A., Tatsch, K., Booij, J., Sabri, O. (2013). No association between striatal dopamine transporter binding and body mass index: A multi-center european study in healthy volunteers. NeuroImage, 64(1), 61–67.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gispert, J., Pascau, J., Reig, S., Martínez-Lázaro, R., Molina, V., García-Barreno, P., Desco, M. (2003). Influence of the normalization template on the outcome of statistical parametric mapping of {PET} scans. NeuroImage, 19(3), 601–612.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hill, D., Batchelor, P., Holden, M., Hawkes, D. (2001). Medical image registration. Physics in Medicine and Biology, 46(3), R1–R45.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Holmes, C., Hoge, R., Collins, L., Woods, R., Toga, A., Evans, A. (1998). Enhancement of mr images using registration for signal averaging. Journal of Computer Assisted Tomography, 22(2), 324–333.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Illán, I.A., Górriz, J., Ramírez, J., Segovia, F., Jiménez-Hoyuela, J., Ortega Lozano, S. (2012). Automatic assistance to Parkinsons disease diagnosis in Datscan SPECT imaging. Medical Physics, 39(10), 5971–5980.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kas, A., Payoux, P., Habert, M.O., Malek, Z., Cointepas, Y., El Fakhri, G., Chaumet-Riffaud, P., Itti, E., Remy, P. (2007). Validation of a standardized normalization template for statistical parametric mapping analysis of 123I-FP-CIT images. Journal of Nuclear Medicine, 48(9), 1459–67.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Koch, W., Radau, P., Hamann, C., Tatsch, K. (2005). Clinical testing of an optimized software solution for an automated, observer-independent evaluation of dopamine transporter spect studies. Journal of Nuclear Medicine, 46(7), 1109–1118.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Marek, K., Innis, R., Van Dyck, C., Fussell, B., Early, M., Eberly, S., Oakes, D., Seibyl, J. (2001). [123I] β-CIT SPECT imaging assessment of the rate of Parkinson’s disease progression. Neurology, 57(11), 2089–2094.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mazziotta, J., Toga, A., Evans, A., Fox, P., Lancaster, J., Zilles, K., Woods, R., Paus, T., Simpson, G., Pike, B., Holmes, C., Collins, L., Thompson, P., MacDonald, D., Iacoboni, M., Schormann, T., Amunts, K., Palomero-Gallagher, N., Geyer, S., Parsons, L., Narr, K., Kabani, N., Le Goualher, G., Boomsma, D., Cannon, T., Kawashima, R., Mazoyer, B. (2001). A probabilistic atlas and reference system for the human brain: International consortium for brain mapping (ICBM). Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 356(1412), 1293–1322.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Neumeyer, J.L., Wang, S., Milius, R.A., Baldwin, R.M., Zea-Ponce, Y., Hoffer, P.B., Sybirska, E., Al-Tikriti, M., Charney, D.S., Malison, R.T., Laruelle, M., Innis, R.B. (1991). [123I]-2 β-carbomethoxy-3 β-(4-iodophenyl)tropane: High-affinity SPECT radiotracer of monoamine reuptake sites in brain. Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 34(10), 3144–3146.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Nolan, J.P. (1997). Numerical calculation of stable densities and distribution functions. Commun Statist-Stochastic Models, 13(4), 759–774.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nolan, J.P. (2001). Lévy processes: Theory and Applications. Boston: Birkhauser. chap Maximum likelihood estimation of stable parameters.

    Google Scholar 

  • O’Brien, J.T., McKeith, I.G., Walker, Z., Tatsch, K., Booij, J., Darcourt, J., Marquardt, M., Reininger, C. (2009). Diagnostic accuracy of 123I-FP-CIT SPECT in possible dementia with Lewy bodies. British Journal of Psychiatry, 194(1), 34–39.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Otsu, N. (1979). A threshold selection method from gray-level histograms. IEEE Transactions on Systems Man and Cybernetics, 9(1), 62–66.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Salas-Gonzalez, D., Górriz, J.M., Ramírez, J., Lassl, A., Puntonet, C.G. (2008). Improved gauss-newton optimization methods in affine registration of spect brain images. IET Electronics Letters, 44(22), 1291–1292.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Salas-Gonzalez, D., Górriz, J., Ramírez, J., Illán, I., Lang, E.W. (2013a). Linear intensity normalization of FP-CIT SPECT brain images using the α-stable distribution. NeuroImage, 65, 449–455.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Salas-Gonzalez, D., Górriz, J.M., Ramírez, J., Padilla, P., Illán, I.A. (2013b). Improving the convergence rate in affine registration of PET and SPECT brain images using histogram equalization. Computational and Mathematical Methods in Medicine 2013(Article ID 760903):8 pages.

  • Samorodnitsky, G., & Taqqu, M. (1994). Stable non-Gaussian random processes: stochastic models with infinite variance. Stochastic Modeling. London: Chapman & Hall.

    Google Scholar 

  • Seibyl, J.P., Marchek, K.L., Quinlan, D., Sheff, K., Zoghbi, S., Zea-Ponce, Y., Baldwin, R.M., Fussell, B., Smith, E.O., Charney, D.S., Hoffer, P.B., Innis, R.B., van Dyck, C.H. (1995). Decreased single-photon emission computed tomographic [123I] β-CIT striatal uptake correlates with symptom severity in Parkinson’s disease. Annals of Neurology, 38(4), 589–598.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Walker, Z., Jaros, E., Walker, R.W., Lee, L., Costa, D.C., Livingston, G., Ince, P.G., Perry, R., McKeith, I., Katona, C.L.E. (2007). Dementia with Lewy bodies: A comparison of clinical diagnosis, FP-CIT single photon emission computed tomography imaging and autopsy. Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry, 78(11), 1176–1181.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Winogrodzka, A., Bergmans, P., Booij, J., Van Royen, E.A., Stoof, J.C., Wolters, E.C. (2003). [123I]FP-CIT SPECT is a useful method to monitor the rate of dopaminergic degeneration in early-stage Parkinson’s disease. Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry, 74, 294–298.

    Article  PubMed Central  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Zitová, B., & Flusser, J. (2003). Image registration methods: A survey. Image and Vision Computing, 21 (11), 977–1000.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This work was partly supported by the MICINN of Spain under the TEC2012-34306 project and the Consejería de Innovación, Ciencia y Empresa (Junta de Andalucía, Spain) under the Excellence Projects P09-TIC-4530 and P11-TIC-7103. This work has also been supported by a Marie Curie Intra-European Fellowship from the 7th Framework Programme FP7-PEOPLE-2013-IEF (Project: 624453 ALPHA-BRAIN-IMAGING).

Conflict of interests

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Computational Intelligence and Machine Learning Group, University of Regensburg, 93040, Regensburg, Germany

    D. Salas-Gonzalez & Elmar W. Lang

  2. Department of Signal Theory, Networking and Communications, University of Granada, Granada, Spain

    Juan M. Górriz, Javier Ramírez, Ignacio A. Illán, Pablo Padilla & Francisco J. Martínez-Murcia

Authors
  1. D. Salas-Gonzalez
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Juan M. Górriz
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Javier Ramírez
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Ignacio A. Illán
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Pablo Padilla
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Francisco J. Martínez-Murcia
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Elmar W. Lang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to D. Salas-Gonzalez.

Additional information

Information Sharing Statement

The FP-CIT SPECT template (RRID:SciRes 000197) built in the MNI space can be downloaded from the Neuroimaging Informatics Tools and Resources Clearinghouse: http://www.nitrc.org/ and from the Signal Processing and Biomedical Applications Group website: http://sipba.ugr.es/descargas/.

This work has been supported by a Marie Curie Intra-European Fellowship from the 7th Framework Programme FP7-PEOPLE-2013-IEF (Project: 624453 ALPHA-BRAIN-IMAGING).

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Salas-Gonzalez, D., Górriz, J.M., Ramírez, J. et al. Building a FP-CIT SPECT Brain Template Using a Posterization Approach. Neuroinform 13, 391–402 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12021-015-9262-9

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12021-015-9262-9

Keywords

Search

Navigation