text: We present an information-theoretic approach to registration of DWI with explicit optimization over the orientational scale, with an additional focus on normalized mutual information as a robust information-theoretic similarity measure for DWI. The framework is an extension of the LOR-DWI density-based hierarchical scale-space model, that varies and optimizes over the integration, spatial, directional, and intensity scales. We extend the model to non-rigid deformations and show that the formulation provides intrinsic regularization through the orientational information. Our experiments illustrate that the proposed model deforms ODFs correctly and is capable of handling the classic complex challenges in DWI-registrations, such as the registration of fiber-crossings along with kissing, fanning and interleaving fibers. Our results clearly illustrate a novel promising regularizing effect, that comes from the nonlinear orientation-based cost function. We illustrate the properties of the different image scales, and show that including orientational information in our model make the model better at retrieving deformations compared to standard scalar-based registration.
  @cite_35: With the application in many neuroimaging studies, diffusion tensor image (DTI) registration has generated considerable interest and been studied widely. Although a number of DTI registration methods have been developed, their performances have not yet been compared systematically. This work addresses this gap by comparing a large number of existing DTI registration methods and gives the comprehensive evaluation results. In this paper, the open-access IXI DTI dataset were used. In order to compare the accuracy of tensor matching, 11 open-source registration methods were evaluated with 7 quantitative and open-access evaluation criteria that measure the similarity among tensors (namely tensor-based techniques) or scalar images derived from diffusion tensors (namely scalar-based techniques). The evaluation results indicate that the diffeomorphic deformable tensor registration method (referred to as DTI-TK) is the best method, followed by the symmetric image normalization method (referred to as SyN).
  @cite_18: In this work, we propose DR-TAMAS (Diffeomorphic Registration for Tensor Accurate alignMent of Anatomical Structures), a novel framework for intersubject registration of Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) data sets. This framework is optimized for brain data and its main goal is to achieve an accurate alignment of all brain structures, including white matter (WM), gray matter (GM), and spaces containing cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Currently most DTI-based spatial normalization algorithms emphasize alignment of anisotropic structures. While some diffusion-derived metrics, such as diffusion anisotropy and tensor eigenvector orientation, are highly informative for proper alignment of WM, other tensor metrics such as the trace or mean diffusivity (MD) are fundamental for a proper alignment of GM and CSF boundaries. Moreover, it is desirable to include information from structural MRI data, e.g., T1-weighted or T2-weighted images, which are usually available together with the diffusion data. The fundamental property of DR-TAMAS is to achieve global anatomical accuracy by incorporating in its cost function the most informative metrics locally. Another important feature of DR-TAMAS is a symmetric time-varying velocity-based transformation model, which enables it to account for potentially large anatomical variability in healthy subjects and patients. The performance of DR-TAMAS is evaluated with several data sets and compared with other widely-used diffeomorphic image registration techniques employing both full tensor information and or DTI-derived scalar maps. Our results show that the proposed method has excellent overall performance in the entire brain, while being equivalent to the best existing methods in WM.
  @cite_26: 
  @cite_14: In recent years, diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) has become the modality of choice to investigate white matter pathology in the developing brain. To study neonate Krabbe disease with DTI, we evaluate the performance of linear and non-linear DTI registration algorithms for atlas based fiber tract analysis. The DTI scans of 10 age-matched neonates with infantile Krabbe disease are mapped into an atlas for the analysis of major fiber tracts - the genu and splenium of the corpus callosum, the internal capsules tracts and the uncinate fasciculi. The neonate atlas is based on 377 healthy control subjects, generated using an unbiased diffeomorphic atlas building method. To evaluate the performance of one linear and seven nonlinear commonly used registration algorithms for DTI we propose the use of two novel evaluation metrics: a regional matching quality criterion incorporating the local tensor orientation similarity, and a fiber property profile based metric using normative correlation. Our experimental results indicate that the whole tensor based registration method within the DTI-ToolKit (DTI-TK) shows the best performance for our application.
  @cite_29: 
  @cite_19: 
  @cite_27: 
  @cite_23: In this paper, we propose the DT-REFinD algorithm for the diffeomorphic nonlinear registration of diffusion tensor images. Unlike scalar images, deforming tensor images requires choosing both a reorientation strategy and an interpolation scheme. Current diffusion tensor registration algorithms that use full tensor information face difficulties in computing the differential of the tensor reorientation strategy and consequently, these methods often approximate the gradient of the objective function. In the case of the finite-strain (FS) reorientation strategy, we borrow results from the pose estimation literature in computer vision to derive an analytical gradient of the registration objective function. By utilizing the closed-form gradient and the velocity field representation of one parameter subgroups of diffeomorphisms, the resulting registration algorithm is diffeomorphic and fast. We contrast the algorithm with a traditional FS alternative that ignores the reorientation in the gradient computation. We show that the exact gradient leads to significantly better registration at the cost of computation time. Independently of the choice of Euclidean or Log-Euclidean interpolation and sum of squared differences dissimilarity measure, the exact gradient achieves better alignment over an entire spectrum of deformation penalties. Alignment quality is assessed with a battery of metrics including tensor overlap, fractional anisotropy, inverse consistency and closeness to synthetic warps. The improvements persist even when a different reorientation scheme, preservation of principal directions, is used to apply the final deformations.
  @cite_5: In recent years, diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging has attracted considerable attention due to its unique potential to delineate the white matter pathways of the brain. However, methodologies currently available and in common use among neuroscientists and clinicians are typically based on the diffusion tensor model, which has comprehensively been shown to be inadequate to characterize diffusion in brain white matter. This is due to the fact that it is only capable of resolving a single fiber orientation per voxel, causing incorrect fiber orientations, and hence pathways, to be estimated through these voxels. Given that the proportion of affected voxels has been recently estimated at 90 , this is a serious limitation. Furthermore, most implementations use simple “deterministic” streamlines tracking algorithms, which have now been superseded by “probabilistic” approaches. In this study, we present a robust set of tools to perform tractography, using fiber orientations estimated using the validated constrained spherical deconvolution method, coupled with a probabilistic streamlines tracking algorithm. This methodology is shown to provide superior delineations of a number of known white matter tracts, in a manner robust to crossing fiber effects. These tools have been compiled into a software package, called MRtrix, which has been made freely available for use by the scientific community. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Imaging Syst Technol, 22, 53–66, 2012 © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
  @cite_15: In this paper, we present a novel deformable registration algorithm for diffusion tensor MR images that enables explicit optimization of tensor reorientation. The optimization seeks a piecewise affine transformation that divides the image domain into uniform regions and transform each region affinely. The objective function captures both the image similarity and the smoothness of the transformation across region boundaries. The image similarity enables explicit orientation optimization by incorporating tensor reorientation, which is necessary for warping diffusion tensor images. The objective function is formulated in a way that allows explicit implementation of analytic derivatives to drive fast and accurate optimization using the conjugate gradient method. By explicitly optimizing tensor reorientation, the algorithm is designed to take advantage of similarity measures comparing tensors as a whole. The optimal transformation is hierarchically refined in a subdivision framework. A comparison with affine registration for inter-subject normalization of 8 subjects shows that the proposed algorithm improves the alignment of several major white matter structures examined: the anterior thalamic radiations, the inferior fronto-occipital fasciculi, the corticospinal corticobulbar tracts and the genu and the splenium of the corpus callosum. The alignment of white matter structures is assessed using a novel scheme of computing distances between the corresponding fiber bundles derived from tractography.
  @cite_13: Abstract Registration plays an important role in group analysis of diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) data. It can be used to build a reference anatomy for investigating structural variation or tracking changes in white matter. Unlike traditional scalar image registration where spatial alignment is the only focus, registration of DWI data requires both spatial alignment of structures and reorientation of local signal profiles. As such, DWI registration is much more complex and challenging than scalar image registration. Although a variety of algorithms has been proposed to tackle the problem, most of them are restricted by the diffusion model used for registration, making it difficult to fit to the registered data a different model. In this paper we describe a method that allows any diffusion model to be fitted after registration for subsequent multifaceted analysis. This is achieved by directly aligning DWI data using a large deformation diffeomorphic registration framework. Our algorithm seeks the optimal coordinate mapping by simultaneously considering structural alignment, local signal profile reorientation, and deformation regularization. Our algorithm also incorporates a multi-kernel strategy to concurrently register anatomical structures at different scales. We demonstrate the efficacy of our approach using in vivo data and report detailed qualitative and quantitative results in comparison with several different registration strategies.
  @cite_25: Background Diffusion Tensor Magnetic Resonance Imaging (DT-MRI, also known as DTI) measures the diffusion properties of water molecules in tissues and to date is one of the main techniques that can effectively study the microstructures of the brain in vivo. Presently, evaluation of DTI registration techniques is still in an initial stage of development.
summary: Image registration refers to a process that transforms data into a shared coordinate system. For DWI, the common way to register two images is to use scalar-based methods on quantitative measures, such as the fractional anisotropy (FA) or the mean diffusivity (MD) @cite_27 . However, as such methods disregard most of the directional information in DWI, methods have been developed to also account for the reorientation of the diffusion profile. Most of these are created on top of scalar-based methods and iteratively reorients the gradients after changing the deformation field. Some of the most popular methods can be found in @cite_19 @cite_5 @cite_26 @cite_29 . However, registration frameworks have also been designed with an objective function that explicitly optimizes over the reorientation of the gradients, such as DTI-TK @cite_15 , DT-REFineD @cite_23 , and the more recent DR-TAMAS @cite_18 . These frameworks have been shown to generally outperform scalar-based frameworks for DWI @cite_14 @cite_13 @cite_35 @cite_25 .