Devasuda Anblagan1,
2, Mark E. Bastin3, Lucy Kershaw1, Susana Muoz
Maniega4, Jonathan D. Clayden5, Chinthika Piyasena6,
Graham Wilkinson7, Neil Roberts1, Scott I. Semple1,
Jane Norman2, James P. Boardman2
1Clinical
Research Imaging Centre, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom; 2MRC
Centre for Reproductive Health, Queen's Medical Research Institute,
University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom; 3Centre for
Clinical Brain Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom; 4Brain
Research Imaging Centre, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom; 5Institute
of Child Health, University College London, London, United Kingdom; 6BHF
Centre for Cardiovascular Science, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United
Kingdom; 7NHS Lothian, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
Preterm birth is a significant environmental risk factor that can have a marked impact on early life cerebral development. Diffusion MRI and tractography may provide further insights into the cerebral microstructural changes that accompany preterm birth by supplying quantitative biomarkers of white matter integrity in specific tracts of interest. This pilot work describes the first application of an automatic single seed point tractography-based segmentation method, probabilistic neighborhood tractography, to the study of the neonatal brain.
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