Exploring Crossing Fibers of the Brain's White Matter Using Directional Regions of Interest

Diffusion magnetic resonance imaging (dMRI) is a medical imaging method that can be used to acquire local information about the structure of white matter pathways within the human brain. By applying computational methods termed fiber tractography on dMRI data, it is possible to estimate the location and extent of respective nerve bundles (white matter pathways). Visualizing these complex white matter pathways for neuro applications is still an open issue. Hence, interactive visualization techniques to explore and better understand tractography data are required. In this paper, we propose a new interaction technique to support exploration and interpretation of white matter pathways. Our application empowers the user to interactively manipulate manually segmented, box- or ellipsoid-shaped regions of interest (ROIs) to selectively display pathways that pass through specific anatomical areas. To further support flexible ROI design, each ROI can be assigned a Boolean logic operator and a fiber direction. The latter is particularly relevant for kissing, crossing or fanning regions, as it allows the neuroscientists to filter fibers according to their direction within the ROI. By precomputing all white matter pathways in the whole brain, interactive ROI placement and adjustment are possible. The proposed fiber selection tool provides ultimate flexibility and is an excellent approach for fiber tract selection, as shown for some real-world examples.

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