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Wu X, Xie C, Cheng F, Li Z, Li R, Xu D, Kim H, Zhang J, Liu H, Liu M. Comparative evaluation of interpretation methods in surface-based age prediction for neonates. Neuroimage 2024; 300:120861. [PMID: 39326769 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2024.120861] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2024] [Revised: 09/15/2024] [Accepted: 09/18/2024] [Indexed: 09/28/2024] Open
Abstract
Significant changes in brain morphology occur during the third trimester of gestation. The capability of deep learning in leveraging these morphological features has enhanced the accuracy of brain age predictions for this critical period. Yet, the opaque nature of deep learning techniques, often described as "black box" approaches, limits their interpretability, posing challenges in clinical applications. Traditional interpretable methods developed for computer vision and natural language processing may not directly translate to the distinct demands of neuroimaging. In response, our research evaluates the effectiveness and adaptability of two interpretative methods-regional age prediction and the perturbation-based saliency map approach-for predicting the brain age of neonates. Analyzing 664 T1 MRI scans with the NEOCIVET pipeline to extract brain surface and cortical features, we assess how these methods illuminate key brain regions for age prediction, focusing on technical analysis with clinical insight. Through a comparative analysis of the saliency index (SI) with relative brain age (RBA) and the examination of structural covariance networks, we uncover the saliency index's enhanced ability to pinpoint regions vital for accurate indication of clinical factors. Our results highlight the advantages of perturbation techniques in addressing the complexities of medical data, steering clinical interventions for premature neonates towards more personalized and interpretable approaches. This study not only reveals the promise of these methods in complex medical scenarios but also offers a blueprint for implementing more interpretable and clinically relevant deep learning models in healthcare settings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaotong Wu
- School of Biomedical Engineering, Sun Yat-sen University, Shenzhen, 518107, China
| | - Chenxin Xie
- Guangzhou Women and Children's Medical Center, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, 510623, China
| | - Fangxiao Cheng
- Institute of Medical Technology, Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing, 100191, China
| | - Zhuoshuo Li
- School of Biomedical Engineering, Sun Yat-sen University, Shenzhen, 518107, China
| | - Ruizhuo Li
- Guangzhou Women and Children's Medical Center, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, 510623, China
| | - Duan Xu
- Department of Radiology & Biomedical Imaging, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Hosung Kim
- Department of Neurology, USC Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Jianjia Zhang
- School of Biomedical Engineering, Sun Yat-sen University, Shenzhen, 518107, China; Key Laboratory of Brain-Machine Intelligence Technology, Ministry of Education, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing, China.
| | - Hongsheng Liu
- Guangzhou Women and Children's Medical Center, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, 510623, China.
| | - Mengting Liu
- School of Biomedical Engineering, Sun Yat-sen University, Shenzhen, 518107, China.
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2
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Verschuur AS, King R, Tax CMW, Boomsma MF, van Wezel-Meijler G, Leemans A, Leijser LM. Methodological considerations on diffusion MRI tractography in infants aged 0-2 years: a scoping review. Pediatr Res 2024:10.1038/s41390-024-03463-2. [PMID: 39143201 DOI: 10.1038/s41390-024-03463-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2024] [Revised: 07/20/2024] [Accepted: 07/24/2024] [Indexed: 08/16/2024]
Abstract
Diffusion MRI (dMRI) enables studying the complex architectural organization of the brain's white matter (WM) through virtual reconstruction of WM fiber tracts (tractography). Despite the anticipated clinical importance of applying tractography to study structural connectivity and tract development during the critical period of rapid infant brain maturation, detailed descriptions on how to approach tractography in young infants are limited. Over the past two decades, tractography from infant dMRI has mainly been applied in research settings and focused on diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). Only few studies used techniques superior to DTI in terms of disentangling information on the brain's organizational complexity, including crossing fibers. While more advanced techniques may enhance our understanding of the intricate processes of normal and abnormal brain development and extensive knowledge has been gained from application on adult scans, their applicability in infants has remained underexplored. This may partially be due to the higher technical requirements versus the need to limit scan time in young infants. We review various previously described methodological practices for tractography in the infant brain (0-2 years-of-age) and provide recommendations to optimize advanced tractography approaches to enable more accurate reconstructions of the brain WM's complexity. IMPACT: Diffusion tensor imaging is the technique most frequently used for fiber tracking in the developing infant brain but is limited in capability to disentangle the complex white matter organization. Advanced tractography techniques allow for reconstruction of crossing fiber bundles to better reflect the brain's complex organization. Yet, they pose practical and technical challenges in the fast developing young infant's brain. Methods on how to approach advanced tractography in the young infant's brain have hardly been described. Based on a literature review, recommendations are provided to optimize tractography for the developing infant brain, aiming to advance early diagnosis and neuroprotective strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anouk S Verschuur
- Department of Radiology, Isala Hospital Zwolle, Zwolle, The Netherlands.
- Department of Pediatrics, Section of Newborn Critical Care, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada.
- Image Sciences Institute, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
| | - Regan King
- Department of Pediatrics, Section of Newborn Critical Care, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada
| | - Chantal M W Tax
- Image Sciences Institute, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands
- CUBRIC, School of Physics and Astronomy, Cardiff University, Cardiff, United Kingdom
| | - Martijn F Boomsma
- Department of Radiology, Isala Hospital Zwolle, Zwolle, The Netherlands
- Division of Imaging and Oncology, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Gerda van Wezel-Meijler
- Department of Neonatology, Isala Women and Children's Hospital Zwolle, Zwolle, The Netherlands
| | - Alexander Leemans
- Image Sciences Institute, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Lara M Leijser
- Department of Pediatrics, Section of Newborn Critical Care, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada
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3
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Zhao L, Zhu D, Wang X, Liu X, Li T, Wang B, Yao Z, Zheng W, Hu B. An Attention-Based Hemispheric Relation Inference Network for Perinatal Brain Age Prediction. IEEE J Biomed Health Inform 2024; 28:4483-4493. [PMID: 38857141 DOI: 10.1109/jbhi.2024.3411620] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/12/2024]
Abstract
Brain anatomical age is an effective feature to assess the status of the brain, such as atypical development and aging. Although some deep learning models have been developed for estimating infant brain age, the performance of these models was unsatisfactory because few of them considered the developmental characteristics of brain anatomy during the perinatal period-the most rapid and complex developmental stage across the lifespan. The present study proposed an attention-based hemispheric relation inference network (HRINet) that takes advantage of the nature of brain structural lateralization during early development. This model captures the inter-hemispheric relationship using a graph attention mechanism and transmits lateralization information as features to describe the interactive development between bilateral hemispheres. The HRINet was used to estimate the brain age of 531 preterm and full-term neonates from the Developing Human Connectome Project (dHCP) database based on two metrics (mean curvature and sulcal depth) characterizing the folding morphology of the cortex. Our results showed that the HRINet outperformed other benchmark models in fitting the perinatal brain age, with mean absolute error of 0.53 and determination coefficient of 0.89. We also verified the generalizability of the HRINet on an extra independent dataset collected from the Gansu Provincial Maternity and Child-care Hospital. Furthermore, by applying the best-performing model to an independent dataset consisting of 47 scans of preterm infants at term-equivalent age, we showed that the predicted age was significantly lower than the chronological age, suggesting a delayed development of premature brains. Our results demonstrate the effectiveness and generalizability of the HRINet in estimating infant brain age, providing promising clinical applications for assessing neonatal brain maturity.
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Lautarescu A, Bonthrone AF, Bos B, Barratt B, Counsell SJ. Advances in fetal and neonatal neuroimaging and everyday exposures. Pediatr Res 2024:10.1038/s41390-024-03294-1. [PMID: 38877283 DOI: 10.1038/s41390-024-03294-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/13/2024] [Revised: 04/25/2024] [Accepted: 04/29/2024] [Indexed: 06/16/2024]
Abstract
The complex, tightly regulated process of prenatal brain development may be adversely affected by "everyday exposures" such as stress and environmental pollutants. Researchers are only just beginning to understand the neural sequelae of such exposures, with advances in fetal and neonatal neuroimaging elucidating structural, microstructural, and functional correlates in the developing brain. This narrative review discusses the wide-ranging literature investigating the influence of parental stress on fetal and neonatal brain development as well as emerging literature assessing the impact of exposure to environmental toxicants such as lead and air pollution. These 'everyday exposures' can co-occur with other stressors such as social and financial deprivation, and therefore we include a brief discussion of neuroimaging studies assessing the effect of social disadvantage. Increased exposure to prenatal stressors is associated with alterations in the brain structure, microstructure and function, with some evidence these associations are moderated by factors such as infant sex. However, most studies examine only single exposures and the literature on the relationship between in utero exposure to pollutants and fetal or neonatal brain development is sparse. Large cohort studies are required that include evaluation of multiple co-occurring exposures in order to fully characterize their impact on early brain development. IMPACT: Increased prenatal exposure to parental stress and is associated with altered functional, macro and microstructural fetal and neonatal brain development. Exposure to air pollution and lead may also alter brain development in the fetal and neonatal period. Further research is needed to investigate the effect of multiple co-occurring exposures, including stress, environmental toxicants, and socioeconomic deprivation on early brain development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexandra Lautarescu
- Department of Perinatal Imaging and Health, Centre for the Developing Brain, School of Biomedical Engineering and Imaging Sciences, King's College London, London, UK
- Department of Psychology, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Alexandra F Bonthrone
- Department of Perinatal Imaging and Health, Centre for the Developing Brain, School of Biomedical Engineering and Imaging Sciences, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Brendan Bos
- MRC Centre for Environment and Health, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Ben Barratt
- MRC Centre for Environment and Health, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Serena J Counsell
- Department of Perinatal Imaging and Health, Centre for the Developing Brain, School of Biomedical Engineering and Imaging Sciences, King's College London, London, UK.
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5
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Park S, Kim HG, Yang H, Lee M, Kim REY, Kim SH, Styner MA, Kim J, Kim JR, Kim D. A regional brain volume-based age prediction model for neonates and the derived brain maturation index. Eur Radiol 2024; 34:3892-3902. [PMID: 37971681 DOI: 10.1007/s00330-023-10408-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2022] [Revised: 09/07/2023] [Accepted: 09/18/2023] [Indexed: 11/19/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To develop a postmenstrual age (PMA) prediction model based on segmentation volume and to evaluate the brain maturation index using the proposed model. METHODS Neonatal brain MRIs without clinical illness or structural abnormalities were collected from four datasets from the Developing Human Connectome Project, the Catholic University of Korea, Hammersmith Hospital (HS), and Dankook University Hospital (DU). T1- and T2-weighted images were used to train a brain segmentation model. Another model to predict the PMA of neonates based on segmentation data was developed. Accuracy was assessed using mean absolute error (MAE), root mean square error (RMSE), and mean error (ME). The brain maturation index was calculated as the difference between the PMA predicted by the model and the true PMA, and its correlation with postnatal age was analyzed. RESULTS A total of 247 neonates (mean gestation age 37 ± 4 weeks; range 24-42 weeks) were included. Thirty-one features were extracted from each neonate and the three most contributing features for PMA prediction were the right lateral ventricle, left caudate, and corpus callosum. The predicted and true PMA were positively correlated (coefficient = 0.88, p < .001). MAE, RMSE, and ME of the external dataset of HS and DU were 1.57 and 1.33, 1.79 and 1.37, and 0.37 and 0.06 weeks, respectively. The brain maturation index negatively correlated with postnatal age (coefficient = - 0.24, p < .001). CONCLUSION A model that calculates the regional brain volume can predict the PMA of neonates, which can then be utilized to show the brain maturation degree. CLINICAL RELEVANCE STATEMENT A brain maturity index based on regional volume of neonate's brain can be used to measure brain maturation degree, which can help identify the status of early brain development. KEY POINTS • Neonatal brain MRI segmentation model could be used to assess neonatal brain maturation status. • A postmenstrual age (PMA) prediction model was developed based on a neonatal brain MRI segmentation model. • The brain maturation index, derived from the PMA prediction model, enabled the estimation of the neonatal brain maturation status.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sunghwan Park
- Research Institute, NEUROPHET Inc., Seoul, 06234, Republic of Korea
| | - Hyun Gi Kim
- Department of Radiology, Eunpyeong St. Mary's Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, 03312, Republic of Korea.
| | - Hyeonsik Yang
- Research Institute, NEUROPHET Inc., Seoul, 06234, Republic of Korea
| | - Minho Lee
- Research Institute, NEUROPHET Inc., Seoul, 06234, Republic of Korea
| | - Regina E Y Kim
- Research Institute, NEUROPHET Inc., Seoul, 06234, Republic of Korea
| | - Sun Hyung Kim
- Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Martin A Styner
- Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
- Department of Computer Science, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - JeeYoung Kim
- Department of Radiology, Eunpyeong St. Mary's Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, 03312, Republic of Korea
| | - Jeong Rye Kim
- Department of Radiology, Dankook University Hospital, Dankook University College of Medicine, Cheonan-Si, Chungcheongnam-Do, Republic of Korea
| | - Donghyeon Kim
- Research Institute, NEUROPHET Inc., Seoul, 06234, Republic of Korea.
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6
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Ertl-Wagner BB. Assessing brain maturation on neonatal MRI-do we need a more quantitative approach? Eur Radiol 2024; 34:3889-3891. [PMID: 38133677 DOI: 10.1007/s00330-023-10525-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2023] [Revised: 10/07/2023] [Accepted: 12/05/2023] [Indexed: 12/23/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Birgit Betina Ertl-Wagner
- Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada.
- Neuroscience and Mental Health Program, Research Institute, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada.
- Department of Medical Imaging, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
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7
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Zhao H, Cai H, Liu M. Transformer based multi-modal MRI fusion for prediction of post-menstrual age and neonatal brain development analysis. Med Image Anal 2024; 94:103140. [PMID: 38461655 DOI: 10.1016/j.media.2024.103140] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2023] [Revised: 11/23/2023] [Accepted: 03/05/2024] [Indexed: 03/12/2024]
Abstract
The brain development during the perinatal period is characterized by rapid changes in both structure and function, which have significant impact on the cognitive and behavioral abilities later in life. Accurate assessment of brain age is a crucial indicator for brain development maturity and can help predict the risk of neonatal pathology. However, evaluating neonatal brains using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is challenging due to its complexity, multi-dimension, and noise with subtle alterations. In this paper, we propose a multi-modal deep learning framework based on transformers for precise post-menstrual age (PMA) estimation and brain development analysis using T2-weighted structural MRI (T2-sMRI) and diffusion MRI (dMRI) data. First, we build a two-stream dense network to learn modality-specific features from T2-sMRI and dMRI of brain individually. Then, a transformer module based on self-attention mechanism integrates these features for PMA prediction and preterm/term classification. Finally, saliency maps on brain templates are used to enhance the interpretability of results. Our method is evaluated on the multi-modal MRI dataset of the developing Human Connectome Project (dHCP), which contains 592 neonates, including 478 term-born and 114 preterm-born subjects. The results demonstrate that our method achieves a 0.5-week mean absolute error (MAE) in PMA estimation for term-born subjects. Notably, preterm-born subjects exhibit delayed brain development, worsening with increasing prematurity. Our method also achieves 95% accuracy in classification of term-born and preterm-born subjects, revealing significant group differences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Haiyan Zhao
- School of Electronic Information and Electrical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China
| | - Hongjie Cai
- School of Electronic Information and Electrical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China
| | - Manhua Liu
- School of Electronic Information and Electrical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China; MoE Key Lab of Artificial Intelligence, AI Institute, Shanghai, China.
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8
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Sun H, Mehta S, Khaitova M, Cheng B, Hao X, Spann M, Scheinost D. Brain age prediction and deviations from normative trajectories in the neonatal connectome. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.04.23.590811. [PMID: 38712238 PMCID: PMC11071351 DOI: 10.1101/2024.04.23.590811] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/08/2024]
Abstract
Structural and functional connectomes undergo rapid changes during the third trimester and the first month of postnatal life. Despite progress, our understanding of the developmental trajectories of the connectome in the perinatal period remains incomplete. Brain age prediction uses machine learning to estimate the brain's maturity relative to normative data. The difference between the individual's predicted and chronological age-or brain age gap (BAG)-represents the deviation from these normative trajectories. Here, we assess brain age prediction and BAGs using structural and functional connectomes for infants in the first month of life. We used resting-state fMRI and DTI data from 611 infants (174 preterm; 437 term) from the Developing Human Connectome Project (dHCP) and connectome-based predictive modeling to predict postmenstrual age (PMA). Structural and functional connectomes accurately predicted PMA for term and preterm infants. Predicted ages from each modality were correlated. At the network level, nearly all canonical brain networks-even putatively later developing ones-generated accurate PMA prediction. Additionally, BAGs were associated with perinatal exposures and toddler behavioral outcomes. Overall, our results underscore the importance of normative modeling and deviations from these models during the perinatal period.
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9
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Falcó-Roget J, Cacciola A, Sambataro F, Crimi A. Functional and structural reorganization in brain tumors: a machine learning approach using desynchronized functional oscillations. Commun Biol 2024; 7:419. [PMID: 38582867 PMCID: PMC10998892 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-024-06119-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2022] [Accepted: 03/28/2024] [Indexed: 04/08/2024] Open
Abstract
Neuroimaging studies have allowed for non-invasive mapping of brain networks in brain tumors. Although tumor core and edema are easily identifiable using standard MRI acquisitions, imaging studies often neglect signals, structures, and functions within their presence. Therefore, both functional and diffusion signals, as well as their relationship with global patterns of connectivity reorganization, are poorly understood. Here, we explore the functional activity and the structure of white matter fibers considering the contribution of the whole tumor in a surgical context. First, we find intertwined alterations in the frequency domain of local and spatially distributed resting-state functional signals, potentially arising within the tumor. Second, we propose a fiber tracking pipeline capable of using anatomical information while still reconstructing bundles in tumoral and peritumoral tissue. Finally, using machine learning and healthy anatomical information, we predict structural rearrangement after surgery given the preoperative brain network. The generative model also disentangles complex patterns of connectivity reorganization for different types of tumors. Overall, we show the importance of carefully designing studies including MR signals within damaged brain tissues, as they exhibit and relate to non-trivial patterns of both structural and functional (dis-)connections or activity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joan Falcó-Roget
- Brain and More Lab, Computer Vision, Sano Centre for Computational Medicine, Kraków, Poland.
| | - Alberto Cacciola
- Brain Mapping Lab, Department of Biomedical, Dental Sciences and Morphological and Functional Imaging, University of Messina, Messina, Italy
| | - Fabio Sambataro
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Padova, Padua, Italy
| | - Alessandro Crimi
- Brain and More Lab, Computer Vision, Sano Centre for Computational Medicine, Kraków, Poland.
- Faculty of Computer Science, AGH University of Krakow, Kraków, Poland.
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10
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Beizaee F, Bona M, Desrosiers C, Dolz J, Lodygensky G. Determining regional brain growth in premature and mature infants in relation to age at MRI using deep neural networks. Sci Rep 2023; 13:13259. [PMID: 37582862 PMCID: PMC10427665 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-40244-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2022] [Accepted: 08/07/2023] [Indexed: 08/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Neonatal MRIs are used increasingly in preterm infants. However, it is not always feasible to analyze this data. Having a tool that assesses brain maturation during this period of extraordinary changes would be immensely helpful. Approaches based on deep learning approaches could solve this task since, once properly trained and validated, they can be used in practically any system and provide holistic quantitative information in a matter of minutes. However, one major deterrent for radiologists is that these tools are not easily interpretable. Indeed, it is important that structures driving the results be detailed and survive comparison to the available literature. To solve these challenges, we propose an interpretable pipeline based on deep learning to predict postmenstrual age at scan, a key measure for assessing neonatal brain development. For this purpose, we train a state-of-the-art deep neural network to segment the brain into 87 different regions using normal preterm and term infants from the dHCP study. We then extract informative features for brain age estimation using the segmented MRIs and predict the brain age at scan with a regression model. The proposed framework achieves a mean absolute error of 0.46 weeks to predict postmenstrual age at scan. While our model is based solely on structural T2-weighted images, the results are superior to recent, arguably more complex approaches. Furthermore, based on the extracted knowledge from the trained models, we found that frontal and parietal lobes are among the most important structures for neonatal brain age estimation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Farzad Beizaee
- Software and IT Department, École de Technologie Supérieure, Montreal, QC, H3C 1K3, Canada.
- Department of Pediatrics, CHU Sainte-Justine, University of Montreal, Montreal, QC, H3T 1C5, Canada.
| | - Michele Bona
- Software and IT Department, École de Technologie Supérieure, Montreal, QC, H3C 1K3, Canada
| | - Christian Desrosiers
- Software and IT Department, École de Technologie Supérieure, Montreal, QC, H3C 1K3, Canada
| | - Jose Dolz
- Software and IT Department, École de Technologie Supérieure, Montreal, QC, H3C 1K3, Canada
| | - Gregory Lodygensky
- Department of Pediatrics, CHU Sainte-Justine, University of Montreal, Montreal, QC, H3T 1C5, Canada
- Canadian Neonatal Brain Platform, Montreal, QC, Canada
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11
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Ciarrusta J, Christiaens D, Fitzgibbon SP, Dimitrova R, Hutter J, Hughes E, Duff E, Price AN, Cordero-Grande L, Tournier JD, Rueckert D, Hajnal JV, Arichi T, McAlonan G, Edwards AD, Batalle D. The developing brain structural and functional connectome fingerprint. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2022; 55:101117. [PMID: 35662682 PMCID: PMC9344310 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2022.101117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2021] [Revised: 04/14/2022] [Accepted: 05/17/2022] [Indexed: 11/03/2022] Open
Abstract
In the mature brain, structural and functional 'fingerprints' of brain connectivity can be used to identify the uniqueness of an individual. However, whether the characteristics that make a given brain distinguishable from others already exist at birth remains unknown. Here, we used neuroimaging data from the developing Human Connectome Project (dHCP) of preterm born neonates who were scanned twice during the perinatal period to assess the developing brain fingerprint. We found that 62% of the participants could be identified based on the congruence of the later structural connectome to the initial connectivity matrix derived from the earlier timepoint. In contrast, similarity between functional connectomes of the same subject at different time points was low. Only 10% of the participants showed greater self-similarity in comparison to self-to-other-similarity for the functional connectome. These results suggest that structural connectivity is more stable in early life and can represent a potential connectome fingerprint of the individual: a relatively stable structural connectome appears to support a changing functional connectome at a time when neonates must rapidly acquire new skills to adapt to their new environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Judit Ciarrusta
- Department of Forensic and Neurodevelopmental Science, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, United Kingdom; Centre for the Developing Brain, School of Imaging Sciences & Biomedical Engineering, King's College London, London, United Kingdom; Center for Brain and Cognition (CBC), Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Daan Christiaens
- Centre for the Developing Brain, School of Imaging Sciences & Biomedical Engineering, King's College London, London, United Kingdom; Department of Electrical Engineering, ESAT/PSI, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Sean P Fitzgibbon
- Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, FMRIB, Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford, UK
| | - Ralica Dimitrova
- Department of Forensic and Neurodevelopmental Science, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, United Kingdom; Centre for the Developing Brain, School of Imaging Sciences & Biomedical Engineering, King's College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Jana Hutter
- Centre for the Developing Brain, School of Imaging Sciences & Biomedical Engineering, King's College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Emer Hughes
- Centre for the Developing Brain, School of Imaging Sciences & Biomedical Engineering, King's College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Eugene Duff
- Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, FMRIB, Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford, UK; Paediatric Neuroimaging Group, Department of Paediatrics, University of Oxford, UK
| | - Anthony N Price
- Centre for the Developing Brain, School of Imaging Sciences & Biomedical Engineering, King's College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Lucilio Cordero-Grande
- Centre for the Developing Brain, School of Imaging Sciences & Biomedical Engineering, King's College London, London, United Kingdom; Biomedical Image Technologies, ETSI Telecomunicación, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid & CIBER-BBN, Madrid, Spain
| | - J-Donald Tournier
- Centre for the Developing Brain, School of Imaging Sciences & Biomedical Engineering, King's College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Daniel Rueckert
- Biomedical Image Analysis Group, Department of Computing, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom; Klinikum Rechts der Isar, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Joseph V Hajnal
- Centre for the Developing Brain, School of Imaging Sciences & Biomedical Engineering, King's College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Tomoki Arichi
- Centre for the Developing Brain, School of Imaging Sciences & Biomedical Engineering, King's College London, London, United Kingdom; Department of Bioengineering, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom; Children's Neurosciences, Evelina London Children's Hospital, Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Trust, London, United Kingdom
| | - Grainne McAlonan
- Department of Forensic and Neurodevelopmental Science, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, United Kingdom; MRC Centre for Neurodevelopmental Disorders, King's College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - A David Edwards
- Centre for the Developing Brain, School of Imaging Sciences & Biomedical Engineering, King's College London, London, United Kingdom; MRC Centre for Neurodevelopmental Disorders, King's College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Dafnis Batalle
- Department of Forensic and Neurodevelopmental Science, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, United Kingdom; Centre for the Developing Brain, School of Imaging Sciences & Biomedical Engineering, King's College London, London, United Kingdom
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