A Semi-Automated Pipeline for the Segmentation of Rhesus Macaque Hippocampus: Validation across a Wide Age Range

Michael R. Hunsaker, David G. Amaral, Noam Harel
2014 PLoS ONE  
This report outlines a neuroimaging pipeline that allows a robust, high-throughput, semi-automated, template-based protocol for segmenting the hippocampus in rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta) monkeys ranging from 1 week to 260 weeks of age. The semiautomated component of this approach minimizes user effort while concurrently maximizing the benefit of human expertise by requiring as few as 10 landmarks to be placed on images of each hippocampus to guide registration. Any systematic errors in the
more » ... rmalization process are corrected using a machine-learning algorithm that has been trained by comparing manual and automated segmentations to identify systematic errors. These methods result in high spatial overlap and reliability when compared with the results of manual tracing protocols. They also dramatically reduce the time to acquire data, an important consideration in large-scale neuroradiological studies involving hundreds of MRI scans. Importantly, other than the initial generation of the unbiased template, this approach requires only modest neuroanatomical training. It has been validated for high-throughput studies of rhesus macaque hippocampal anatomy across a broad age range. Citation: Hunsaker MR, Amaral DG (2014) A Semi-Automated Pipeline for the Segmentation of Rhesus Macaque Hippocampus: Validation across a Wide Age Range. PLoS ONE 9(2): e89456.
doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0089456 pmid:24586791 pmcid:PMC3933562 fatcat:by5u3y7cenh2hlj7s7q6xs6pqa