Docteur de l'université Automatic Segmentation and Shape Analysis ...

Chapter 1
Introduction
Advancements in biomedical sciences and engineering tremendously expanded the
field of view of the researchers in health care and medicine. The advent of biomedi-
cal imaging provided a unique approach to human anatomy and physiology, which
would otherwise have remained under the cover. The development of neuroimaging
methods in particular has abundantly enriched the knowledge about the structure,
organization and function of the nervous system. In the studies into the neuro-
logical and psychiatric disorders, imaging now becomes an indispensable tool for
the assessment of diseases, especially in the investigations into Alzheimer’s disease
(AD), which is an area where imaging techniques have been successfully applied.
Structural magnetic resonance (MR) imaging technology has been widely equipped
in clinical settings. It has played an increasingly important role in the diagnosis
of AD, and the early detection of the structural changes linked to the onset of the
disease. Hippocampus is one of the neuroanatomical structures which suffers from
the effect of the disease at an early stage, thus becomes the target of special interest
in the current research. Image based measurement of hippocampal atrophy is one
promising indicator for the progression of the disease. The hippocampal volume
reduction, and shape changes can both be assessed from the structural MR brain
images. The aim of the thesis is to develop the methodology and techniques for
MR image analysis from the segmentation of MR images to the shape analysis of
hippocampus which leads to better understanding of AD.
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