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WebParc: a tool for analysis of the topography and volume of stroke from MRI

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Abstract

The quantitative assessment of the anatomic consequences of cerebral infarction is critical in the study of the etiology and therapeutic response in patients with stroke. We present here an overview of the operation of “WebParc,” a computational system that provides measures of stroke lesion volume and location with respect to canonical forebrain neural systems nomenclature. Using a web-based interface, clinical imaging data can be registered to a template brain that contains a comprehensive set of anatomic structures. Upon delineation of the lesion, we can express the size and localization of the lesion in terms of the regions that are intersected within the template. We demonstrate the application of the system using MRI-based diffusion-weighted imaging and document measures of the validity and reliability of its uses. Intra- and inter-rater reliability is demonstrated, and characterized relative to the various classes of anatomic regions that can be assessed. The WebParc system has been developed to meet criteria of both efficiency and intuitive operator use in the real time analysis of stroke anatomy, so as to be useful in support of clinical care and clinical research studies. This article is an overview of its base-line operation with quantitative anatomic characterization of lesion size and location in terms of stroke distribution within the separate gray and white matter compartments of the brain.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported in part by NIH grants PO1 NS27950, EB005149, and DA09467, by Human Brain Project Grant NS34189, and by grants from the Fairway Trust and the Giovanni Armenise Harvard Foundation for Advanced Scientific Research.

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  1. David N. Kennedy

    Present address: Department of Psychiatry, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA

    Christian Haselgrove

  2. Center for Morphometric Analysis, Massachusetts General Hospital, 149 13th Street, Charlestown, Boston, MA, USA

    David N. Kennedy, Christian Haselgrove, Nikos Makris, Donald M. Goldin & Verne S. Caviness

  3. Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA

    David N. Kennedy, Christian Haselgrove, Nikos Makris, David Caplan & Verne S. Caviness

  4. Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

    David N. Kennedy, Nikos Makris, Michael H. Lev, David Caplan & Verne S. Caviness

  5. Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA

    David N. Kennedy, Nikos Makris, Michael H. Lev & Verne S. Caviness

  6. Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA

    Michael H. Lev

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Kennedy, D.N., Haselgrove, C., Makris, N. et al. WebParc: a tool for analysis of the topography and volume of stroke from MRI. Med Biol Eng Comput 48, 215–228 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11517-009-0571-8

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