A fast and robust graph-based approach for boundary estimation of fiber bundles relying on fractional anisotropy maps

In this paper, a fast and robust graph-based approach for boundary estimation of fiber bundles derived from Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) is presented. DTI is a non-invasive imaging technique that allows the estimation of the location of white matter tracts based on measurements of water diffusion properties. Depending on DTI data, the fiber bundle boundary can be determined to gain information about eloquent structures, which is of major interest for neurosurgery. DTI in combination with tracking algorithms allows the estimation of position and course of fiber tracts in the human brain. The presented method uses these tracking results as the starting point for a graph-based approach. The overall method starts by computing the fiber bundle centerline between two user-defined regions of interests (ROIs). This centerline determines the planes that are used for creating a directed graph. Then, the mincut of the graph is calculated, creating an optimal boundary of the fiber bundle.