Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
at Boston University, Draper Laboratory, Northeastern University, Mas-
sachusetts Institute of Technology, and Massachusetts General Hospi-
tal/Harvard Medical School. The IBSR is a World Wide Web resource
providing access to magnetic resonance brain image data and segmen-
tation results contributed and utilized by researchers from all over the
world. Its purpose is to encourage the development and evaluation of
segmentation methods by providing raw test and image data, human
expert segmentation results, and methods for comparing segmentation
results.
The
Brain Web:
Simulated Brain Database (SBD) from the McConnell
Brain Imaging Centre Montr eal Neurological Institute, at McGill University
(http://www.bic.mni.mcgill.ca/brainweb/). This database contains a set of
realistic MRI data volumes produced by an MRI simulator [73-76]. These
data can be used by the neuro-imaging community to evaluate the per-
formance of various image analysis methods in a setting where the truth
is known. Currently, the SBD contains simulated brain MRI data based
on two anatomical models: normal and multiple sclerosis (MS). Full three-
dimensional data volumes have been simulated using three sequences (T1-,
T2-, and proton-density- (PD-) weighted) and a variety of slice thicknesses,
noise levels, and levels of intensity non-uniformity. These data are available
for viewing in three orthogonal views (transversal, sagittal, and coronal),
and for downloading. Customization of the MRI simulations is also avail-
able allowing the user to run his own custom MRI simulation with any of
several pulse sequences and source digital phantoms, and arbitrary values
of the acquisition artifacts.
Regarding PET imaging, this modality uses small amounts of tracer drugs chem-
ically attached to glucose or other compounds injected into the patient. As the
tracer travels through the body, it emits signals and eventually collects in the
organs targeted for examination. If an area in an organ is cancerous, the signals
will be stronger than in the surrounding tissue. A scanner records these signals
and transforms them into pictures of chemistry and function.
PET modality is used for brain screening for:
diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease,
location of tumors and scar tissue in the brain,
