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Abstract #2542

Clustering of local diffusion features reveals altered thalamic topography in newborns with congenital heart defects

Hui Ji1, Zhe Xin Wu2, Raimund Kottke3,4, Ruth O’Gorman Tuura1, Beatrice Latal3,5, Walter Knirsch3,6, and Andras Jakab1,3
1MR-Research Center, University Children's Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland, 2Department of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland, 3Child Development Center, University Children’s Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland, 4Department of Diagnostic Imaging, University Children’s Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland, 5Children’s Research Center, University Children’s Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland, 6Division of Pediatric Cardiology, Pediatric Heart Center, University Children's Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland

Synopsis

Keywords: Neonatal, Brain Connectivity, congenital heart defects

Motivation: Structural connectivity in the thalamus, essential for cortical-subcortical communication, is known to be disrupted in congenital heart defect (CHD) patients. Yet, assessing thalamic nuclei via local diffusion characteristics in vivo remains challenging.

Goal(s): We aimed to validate a diffusion-based clustering method to map the developing thalamus and explore topological differences between CHD infants and healthy controls

Approach: By refining a segmentation method and employing k-means and GMM clustering, we characterized thalamic nuclei

Results: Notable volume reductions in six thalamic clusters were identified in CHD infants, with significant mediodorsal nucleus group alterations, pertinent to prefrontal connectivity

Impact: Our validated segmentation technique enables robust delineation of thalamic nuclei in vivo, unveiling developmental alterations in CHD infants. This advancement paves the way for targeted clinical interventions and improves neurodevelopmental outcomes prediction

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