Kw. Kang et al., Quantification of F-18FDG PET images in temporal lobe epilepsy patients using probabilistic brain atlas, NEUROIMAGE, 14(1), 2001, pp. 1-6
A probabilistic atlas of the human brain (Statistical Probabilistic Anatomi
cal Maps: SPAM) was developed by the international consortium for brain map
ping (ICBM). It is a good frame for calculating volume of interest (VOI) in
many fields of brain images. After calculating the counts in VOI using the
product of probability of SPAM images and counts in FDG images, asymmetric
indices (AI) were calculated and used for finding epileptogenic zones in m
esial temporal lobe epilepsy (mTLE), FDG PET images from 18 surgically conf
irmed mTLE patients and 22 age-matched controls were spatially normalized t
o the average brain MRI template of ICBM. Counts from normalized PET images
were multiplied with the probability of 12 VOIs from SPAM images in both t
emporal lobes. Finally AI were calculated on each pair of VOIs, and compare
d with visual assessment. If AI of mTLE patients were not within 2.9 standa
rd deviation from those of normal control group (P < 0.008; Bonferroni corr
ection for P < 0.05), epileptogenic zones were considered to be found succe
ssfully The counts of VOIs in the normal control group were symmetric (AI <
4.3%, paired t test P > 0.05) except for those of the inferior temporal gy
rus (P < 0.001). By AIs in six pairs of VOIs, PET in mTLE had deficit on on
e side (P < 0.05). Lateralization was correct in only 14/18 of patients by
AI, but 17/18 were consistent with visual inspection. In three patients wit
h normal Al, PET images were symmetric on visual inspection. The asymmetric
indices obtained by taking the product of the statistical probability anat
omical map and FDG PET, correlated well with visual assessment in mTLE pati
ents. SPAM is useful for the quantification of VOIs in functional images. (
C) 2001 Academic Press.