Main Paths of Brain Fibers in Diffusion Images Mixed With a Noise to Improve Performance of Tractography Algorithm-Evaluation in Phantom Publisher



Shirazinodeh A¹ ; Faraji H² ; Sharifzadeh Javidi S¹ ; Jafari AH^{1, 3} ; Nazemzadeh M^{1, 2} ; Rad HS^{1, 4}
Source: Journal of Biomedical Physics and Engineering Published:2024

Abstract

Background: Some voxels may alter the tractography results due to unintentional alteration of noises and other unwanted factors. Objective: This study aimed to investigate the effect of local phase features on tractography results providing data are mixed by a Gaussian or random distribution noise. Material and Methods: In this simulation study, a mask was firstly designed based on the local phase features to decrease false-negative and-positive tractography results. The local phase features are calculated according to the local structures of im-ages, which can be zero-dimensional, meaning just one point (equivalent to noise in tractography algorithm), a line (equivalent to a simple fiber), or an edge (equivalent to structures more complex than a simple fiber). A digital phantom evaluated the feasibility current model with the maximum complexities of configurations in fibers, including crossing fibers. In this paper, the diffusion images were mixed separately by a Gaussian or random distribution noise in 2 forms: a zero-mean noise and a noise with a mean of data. Results: The local mask eliminates the pixels of unfitted values with the main structures of images, due to noise or other interferer factors. Conclusion: The local phase features of diffusion images are an innovative solution to determine principal diffusion directions. © Journal of Biomedical Physics and Engineering.