Complex Histogram Based Analysis for Visualization of MRI Data

Peter Arjan Wassenaar¹, Michael V. Knopp¹, Petra Schmalbrock¹

Especially at high fields, MRI data contain useful information stemming from the presence of paramagnetic material. This work introduces a new approach to visualizing complex MRI data based on the concept of complex histograms. Complex histograms provide a representation of both magnitude and phase data simultaneously. Furthermore, a complex color mapping scheme is introduced for the visualization of complex images, while retaining both magnitude and phase information. Finally, complex histograms may provide the starting point to tissue segmentation through constraints defined in the complex plane.