Apparatus and method for white-matter-enhancement processing

摘要

The present invention provides an apparatus for white-matter-enhancement processing, and a method and a program for white-matter-enhancement processing that makes it possible to analyze distinguishing characteristics of the brain of a living body, such as degree of growth and development, left/right brain dominance, areas of strength and weakness, and personality traits. The apparatus for white-matter-enhancement processing of the present invention has a memory part for inputting and storing contrast images of a brain of a living body; a white-matter-enhanced image-creating part for creating white-matter-enhanced images, based on stored contrast images; a display processing part for displaying the white-matter-enhanced images thus created; and a branching analysis part for analyzing distinguishing characteristics of the brain of a living body, based on any one of or a combination of the characteristics of branches in the white-matter-enhanced images that are created: their number, thickness, length, location, intensity, shape and/or size.

主权项

1. A white-matter-enhancement apparatus comprising:
a white-matter-enhanced image-creating computer processor that creates a white-matter-enhanced image based on a contrast image of a brain of a living body received from a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) apparatus, wherein white matter is enhanced by adjusting the contrast image in such a way that the white matter stands out, a cortex does not stand out, and branches of the white matter are visible; a display device that displays the white-matter-enhanced image; and a branching analysis computer processor that quantitatively measures at least an intensity of selected demarcating regions of the branches of the white matter in the white-matter-enhanced image and analyzes distinguishing characteristics of the brain, based on at least the intensity of the selected demarcating regions, wherein the selected demarcating regions are assigned as regions where specified functions and roles are performed in the brain of the living body; wherein the branching analysis computer processor quantitatively measures the intensity of the selected demarcating regions by counting one of a first number of black voxels and a second number of white voxels in the selected demarcating regions in a left brain and a right brain and analyzes at least left/right brain dominance as a distinguishing characteristic by calculating a Laterality Index LI according to a formula
LI=(R−L)/(R+L), wherein L=the first number of black voxels or the second number of white voxels counted in the selected demarcating regions in the left brain, and R=the first number of black voxels or the second number of white voxels counted in the selected demarcating regions in the right brain, and wherein if LI is negative, left brain dominance is strong for the selected demarcating regions, and if LI is positive, right brain dominance is strong for the selected demarcating regions.