Cited by 2,290Medical Image Segmentation TechniquesAdvanced MRI Techniques and ApplicationsAdvanced Neuroimaging Techniques and Applications

Unbiased average age-appropriate atlases for pediatric studies

Open access
Fonov, Vladimir, Evans, Alan C., Botteron, Kelly, Almli, C. Robert, McKinstry, Robert C., Collins, D. Louis·2011·NeuroImage

Abstract

Spatial normalization, registration, and segmentation techniques for Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) often use a target or template volume to facilitate processing, take advantage of prior information, and define a common coordinate system for analysis. In the neuroimaging literature, the MNI305 Talairach-like coordinate system is often used as a standard template. However, when studying pediatric populations, variation from the adult brain makes the MNI305 suboptimal for processing brain images of children. Morphological changes occurring during development render the use of age-appropriate templates desirable to reduce potential errors and minimize bias during processing of pediatric data. This paper presents the methods used to create unbiased, age-appropriate MRI atlas templates for pediatric studies that represent the average anatomy for the age range of 4.5-18.5 years, while maintaining a high level of anatomical detail and contrast. The creation of anatomical T1-weighted, T2-weighted, and proton density-weighted templates for specific developmentally important age-ranges, used data derived from the largest epidemiological, representative (healthy and normal) sample of the U.S. population, where each subject was carefully screened for medical and psychiatric factors and characterized using established neuropsychological and behavioral assessments. Use of these age-specific templates was evaluated by computing average tissue maps for gray matter, white matter, and cerebrospinal fluid for each specific age range, and by conducting an exemplar voxel-wise deformation-based morphometry study using 66 young (4.5-6.9 years) participants to demonstrate the benefits of using the age-appropriate templates. The public availability of these atlases/templates will facilitate analysis of pediatric MRI data and enable comparison of results between studies in a common standardized space specific to pediatric research.

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Crossref · 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2010.07.033

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  • The use of high-contrast, age-specific and study-specific template brain images for image registration is a well-validated approach to help overcome confounds from developmental changes.

    “The use of high-contrast, age-specific and study-specific template brain images for image registration is a well-validated approach to help overcome some of these confounds (Avants et al., 2010; Fonov et al., 2011)”

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Research works printed but not linked: 3

  1. Avants BB Epstein CL Symmetric diffeomorphic image registration with cross-correlation: Evaluating automated labeling of elderly and neurodegenerative brain Medical Image Analysis 2008 12 1 26 41 17659998 PMC2276735
  2. Guizzard N Fonov V Symmetric Optimization Scheme versus Constrained Symmetrization for Non-Linear Registrations MICCAI workshop on “Medical Image Analysis on Multiple Sclerosis (validation and methodological issues)” 2009
  3. Wilke M S VJ Holland SK Assessment of spatial normalization of whole-brain magnetic resonance images in children Human Brain Mapping 2002 17 1 48 60 12203688 PMC6871874

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Authors
Fonov, V., Evans, A. C., Botteron, K., Almli, C. R., McKinstry, R. C., & Collins, D. L.
Affiliations
  • Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital (CA)
  • Washington University in St. Louis (US)
  • St. Louis Children's Hospital (US)
Corresponding author
Fonov, Vladimir
Venue
NeuroImage
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2011-01
Volume
54
Issue
1
Pages
313-327
ISSN
1053-8119 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2020745232
Cited by
2,290
References
104
Citations by year
2026: 176 · 2025: 256 · 2024: 225 · 2023: 230 · 2022: 227 · 2021: 207 · 2020: 181 · 2019: 153 · 2018: 122 · 2017: 118 · 2016: 106 · 2015: 91 · 2014: 80 · 2013: 59 · 2012: 35
FWCI
43.42
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • NeuroImage (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
  • ResearchWorks at the University of Washington (University of Washington) (submittedVersion)
  • eScholarship@McGill (McGill) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • eScholarship@McGill (McGill) (submittedVersion)
Funders
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (N01-HD02-3343, N01-MH9-0002, N01-NS-9-2314, -2315, 2316, -2317, -2319, -2320)
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition › Medical Image Segmentation Techniques
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and Imaging › Advanced MRI Techniques and Applications
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and Imaging › Advanced Neuroimaging Techniques and Applications
Keywords
MRI template, spatial normalization, brain development, deformation-based morphometry, gray matter, white matter, cerebrospinal fluid, pediatric neuroimaging
MeSH terms
Adolescent, Age Factors, Algorithms, Brain, Child, Child, Preschool, Humans, Image Processing, Computer-Assisted, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Pediatrics, Reference Values, Observer Variation, Databases, Factual

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