Development and optimization of tools for the study of human brain anatomical connectivity using high angular resolution diffusion MRI

Project Type: FONDECYT Initiation #11121644
Position: Principal Researcher
Award Year: 2012. Ending Year: 2015.

Descripción

This project sought to develop and optimize tools for the study and analysis of brain connectivity, using Difussion Magnetic Resonance Imaging (dMRI) data.

The studies are based on High Angular Resolution Difussion Imaging (HARDI) images.

These present very high quality, due to the advancement of acquisition technologies, as well as the acquisition itself (long duration, dedicated to research) and the performed post-processing, which seek to provide a solid base for the study of the healthy adult human brain.

The main results of this project contemplate:

The analysis of the reproducibility of short association fascicles of the brain, using data clustering tools and cortical parcellations.
The optimization of an algorithm for the segmentation of brain fibers, achieving times that allow an interactive segmentation (Principal Researcher: Professor Miguel Figueroa T.).
The development of a tool for the optimized visualization and manipulation of brain tracts.

Other interesting results are:

Development of a tool for the optimized visualization of tracts for Android devices (iFiber).
Creation of an atlas of short brain fascicles.
Development of algorithms for the comparison of brain tracts, between subjects and between hemispheres.

Undergraduate Theses related to the project

Student	Thesis	Defense Date
Ignacio Osorio W.	Electronic Civil Engineering Thesis: “Software for the Interactive Visualization and Extraction of Brain Fibers”	December 31st, 2015.
Danilo Bonometti B.	Electronic Civil Engineering Thesis: “Visualization of Brain Fibers”	April 1st, 2015.
Daniel Seguel B.	Biomedical Civil Engineering Thesis: “Automatic Algorithm for the Segmentation of Short Association Fibers of the Human Brain”	March 17th, 2015.
Claudio Román G.	Biomedical Civil Engineering Thesis: “Short Brain Fibers Clustering Calculated from Difussion Magnetic Resonance Imaging Images”	January 16th, 2015.
Miguel Guevara O.	Biomedical Civil Engineering Thesis: “Algorithm for the Automatic Segmentation of Short Brain Fibers of the Fronto-Parietal Region and the Insular Cortex”	January 16th, 2015.
Pablo L. Silva P.	Biomedical Civil Engineering Thesis: “Parcellation of the Brain Cortex Based on the Anatomical Connectivity”	May 29th, 2014.
Eduardo Venegas A.	Electronic Civil Engineering Thesis: “Development of a software for the interactive manipulation of brain fibers”	July 18th, 2014.
Nicole A. Labra A.	Biomedical Civil Engineering Thesis: “Optimization of Algorithm for the Classification of White Matter Fibers based on the Brain Fascicles Atlas”	April 30th, 2013.
Edison Pardo R.	Electronic Civil Engineering Thesis: “Study of the Variability of the Connections of Short Association of the Human Brain”	April 4th, 2013.
Gabriel E. Varela M.	Biomedical Civil Engineering Thesis: “Calculation of Diffusion Tensor Indices from the Westin Algorithm”	April 4th, 2013.

Postgraduate Theses related to the project

Student	Thesis	Defense Date
Claudio Román G.	Master of Engineering Sciences w/m in Electrical Engineering. “Segmentation of brain short brain fibers based on hierarchical Clustering from HARDI database”	November 30th, 2016.
Miguel Guevara O.	Master of Engineering Sciences w/m in Electrical Engineering. “Parcellation of the brain cortex based on fiber atlas calculated from tractography”	January 30th, 2016.
Nicole Labra A.	Master of Engineering Sciences w/m in Electrical Engineering, (co-director) “Quick segmentation of white substance brain fibers”	January 28th, 2015.

Publications

3004, 2015

IEEE ISBI Conference at New York, USA

From April 16th to the 19th, 2015, the Annual International Conference of the IEEE International Symposium on Biomedical Imaging (ISBI’15) was held at New York, USA. The masters student Claudio Román presented the paper: "Automatic clustering of short association white matter fibers from HARDI tractography datasets". Professor Pamela Guevara presented the paper of the masters student Juan Eduardo Rodriguez: "A semi-automatic tool for the connectivity tracking of neuronal processes acquired using electron microscopy". FONDECYT 11121644

1604, 2015

Automatic clustering of short association white matter fibers from HARDI tractography datasets

C. Román, P. Guevara, M. Guevara, D. Duclap, A. Lebois, D. Le Bihan, C. Poupon and J.-F. Mangin. Automatic clustering of short association white matter fibers from HARDI tractography datasets. IEEE International Symposium on Biomedical Imaging (ISBI’15), Nueva York, USA, 2015. DOI : http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/ISBI.2015.7163906

1604, 2015

A semi-automatic tool for the connectivity tracking of neuronal processes acquired using electron microscopy.

J. E. Rodríguez, JP. C. Tapia, G. Cárdenas and P. Guevara. A semi-automatic tool for the connectivity tracking of neuronal processes acquired using electron microscopy. IEEE International Symposium on Biomedical Imaging (ISBI’15), Nueva York, USA, 2015. DOI : http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/ISBI.2015.7164011

2003, 2015

Interview in “Juego de Negocios” TV Show

Professor Pamela Guevara participated in chapter 6 of the show "Juego de Negocio" (https://www.facebook.com/juegodenegociotv/timeline) on TVU channel. She presented her work based on the study of brain connectivity, whose main objective is to describe what is called HUMAN CONNECTOME, which is a map of connections, to understand how the brain works and develops (normal and pathological), in the channel TVU. See the video at: https://www.facebook.com/juegodenegociotv/videos/836462549777433/.

1303, 2015

Automatic segmentation of short association fibers using an atlas of the fronto-parietal and insula brain connections.

M. Guevara, P. Guevara, D. Seguel, D. Duclap, C. Román, D. Duclap, A. Lebois, J.-F. Mangin and C. Poupon. Automatic segmentation of short association fibers using an atlas of the fronto-parietal and insula brain connections. 1st Latin American Brain Mapping Network Meeting (LABMAN’15), Sao Paulo, Brasil, 2015.

2802, 2015

Organising white matter in a brain without corpus callosum fibres.

A. Bénézit, L. Hertz-Pannierd, G. Dehaene-Lambertz, K. Monzalvo, D. Germanaud, D. Duclap, P. Guevara, J.F. Mangin, C. Poupon, M.-L. Moutardi, J. Dubois. Organising white matter in a brain without corpus callosum fibres. Cortex, 63, p155-171, 2015. DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cortex.2014.08.022

News

3007, 2018

Innovative App for the improvement of farmacological adherence in seniors is recognized
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Innovative App for the improvement of farmacological adherence in seniors is recognized

News

Innovative App for the improvement of farmacological adherence in seniors is recognized

The Diario Concepción newspaper highlighted the development of a Innovative App to improve the farmacological adherence in hypertensive seniors, in the context of FONDEF ID16AM0007 PROJECT "Transmedial [...]

1707, 2018

A stringent fiber distance measure for dMRI tractography clustering and segmentation.

D. Pinto, C. Román, M. Guevara, C. Poupon, J. F. Mangin, P. Guevara. A stringent fiber distance measure for dMRI tractography clustering and segmentation. Conference of [...]

1505, 2018

Professor Pamela Guevara in “Women in Science and Technology” report
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Professor Pamela Guevara in “Women in Science and Technology” report

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Professor Pamela Guevara in “Women in Science and Technology” report

Professor Pamela Guevara appeared in a reportage from El Sur newspaper titled "Women in Science: family determines the freedom to dare", along with two other young [...]

1405, 2018

Professor Pamela Guevara distinguished in 100 Female UdeC Engineers Campaign
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Professor Pamela Guevara distinguished in 100 Female UdeC Engineers Campaign

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Professor Pamela Guevara distinguished in 100 Female UdeC Engineers Campaign

Professor Pamela Guevara, Biomedical Civil Engineering Director, Electronic Civil Engineer from UdeC, PhD in Physics of Paris-Sud University (France) is one of the few people that [...]