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Abstract #2484

Atlas-Based Segmentation of Quantitative Susceptibility Maps: Determining Iron Content in Deep Gray Matter Structures

Issel Anne L. Lim1, 2, Andreia V. Faria1, Xu Li1, 2, Johnny T.C. Hsu1, Raag D. Airan1, Susumu Mori1, 2, Peter C.M. van Zijl1, 2

1Radiology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, United States; 2F.M. Kirby Research Center for Functional Brain Imaging, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD, United States


Quantitative Susceptibility Mapping (QSM) methods have correlated magnetic susceptibility and gray matter (GM) brain iron concentration. Typically, average susceptibility per structure is determined via manual delineation of ROIs, which is labor-intensive and subject to human error. We created a QSM template as part of the Eve atlas, along with an "Everything" Parcellation Map ("EvePM") containing deep GM ROIs drawn from QSM and white matter ROIs from DTI maps. Using automated segmentation, we derived a susceptibility-iron calibration curve for deep gray matter based on known iron values for three regions, which was used to determine iron concentration in six other regions.