Deformable anatomic templates embed knowledge into patient's brain images: Part 1. Construction and display.

Objective: This paper describes the methods used to create annotated deformable anatomic templates (DATs) and display them in a patient's axial 2-dimensional and reformatted volume brain images.
Methods: A senior neuroradiologist annotated and manually segmented 1185 color-coded structures on axial magnetic resonance images of a normal template brain using domain knowledge from multiple medical specialties. Besides the visible structures, detailed pathways for vision, speech, cognition, and movement were charted. This was done by systematically joining visible anatomic anchor points and selecting the best fit based on comparisons with cadaver dissections and the constraints defined on the companion 2-dimensional images.
Results: The DAT is commercially available for use on a picture archiving and communication system or as a standalone workstation.
Conclusions: The DAT can quickly embed extensive, clinically useful functional neuroanatomic knowledge into the patient's brain images. Besides labeling visible structures, DAT displays clinically important, previously uncharted subdivisions of the fiber tracts.