Transcript p - UCL
Overview
fMRI time-series
Motion
correction
kernel
Design matrix
Smoothing
General Linear Model
Spatial
normalisation
Statistical Parametric Map
Parameter Estimates
Standard
template
The preprocessing sequence revisted
Realignment
– Motion correction: Adjust for movement between
slices
Coregistration
– Overlay structural and functional images: Link
functional scans to anatomical scan
Normalisation
– Warp images to fit to a standard template brain
Smoothing
– To increase signal-to-noise ratio
Extras (optional)
– Slice timing correction; unwarping
Co-registration
Term co-registration applies to any
method for aligning images
– By this token, motion correction is also coregistration
However, term is usually used to refer to
alignment of images from different
modalities. E.g.:
– Low resolution T2* fMRI scan (EPI image) to
high resolution, T1, structural image from the
same individual
Co-registration: Principles behind
this step of processing
When several images of the same
participants have been acquired, it is
useful to have them all in register
Image registration involves estimating a
set of parameters describing a spatial
transformation that ‘best ‘ matches the
images together
fMRI to structural
Matching the functional image
to the structural image
– Overlaying activation on
individual anatomy
– Better spatial image for
normalisation
Two significant differences
between co-registering to
structural scans and motion
correction
– When co-registering to
structural, the images do not
have the same signal intensity
in the same areas; they
cannot be subtracted
– They may not be the same
shape
Problem: Images are different
Differences in signal intensity between the
images
Normalise to appropriate template (EPI to EPI; T1 to T1), then segment
Segmentation
Use the gray/white estimates from the
normalisation step as starting estimates of the
probability of each voxel being grey or white
matter
Estimate the mean and variance of the
gray/white matter signal intensities
Reassign probabilities for voxels on basis of
– Probability map from template
– Signal intensity and distributions of intensity for
gray/white matter
Iterate until there is a good fit
Register segmented images
Grey/white/CSF probability images for EPI
(T2*) and T1
Combined least squares match
(simultaneously) of gray/white/CSF
images of EPI (T2*) + T1 segmented
images
An alternative technique that relies
on mutual information theory
Different material will have different
intensities within a scan modality
– E.g. air will have a consistent brightness, and
this will differ from other materials (such as
white matter)
From Bianca de Haan’s fmri guide. http://www.sph.sc.edu/comd/rorden/fmri_guide/
SPM co-registration - problems
Poor affine normalisation bad
segmentation etc.
Image not homogeneous errors in
clustering
Susceptibility holes in image (e.g. sinuses)
errors in clustering/segmentation
The EPI scans can also be
registered to subject’s own mean
EPI image
Two images from the same subject acquired
using the same modality generally look similar
Hence, it is sufficient to find the rigid-body
transformation parameters that minimise the
sum of squared differences between them
Easier than co-registration between modalities
(intensity correspondence)
– Can be spatially less precise
– But more sensitive to detecting activity differences?
The preprocessing sequence revisted
Realignment
– Motion correction: Adjust for movement between
slices
Coregistration
– Overlay structural and functional images: Link
functional scans to anatomical scan
Normalisation
– Warp images to fit to a standard template brain
Smoothing
– To increase signal-to-noise ratio
Extras (optional)
– Slice timing correction; unwarping
Normalisation
Goal: Register images from different participants
into roughly the same co-ordinate system (where the
co-ordinate system is defined by a template image)
This enables:
– Signal averaging across
participants:
Derive group statistics -> generalise
findings to population
Identify commonalities and differences
between groups (e.g., patient vs.
healthy)
– Report results in standard coordinate system (e.g. Talairach and
Tournoux stereotactic space)
Matthew Brett
Normalisation: Methods
Methods of registering images:
– Label-based approaches: Label homologous features in source
and reference images (points, lines, surfaces) and then warp
(spatially transform) the images to align the landmarks (BUT:
often features identified manually [time consuming and
subjective!] and few identifiable landmarks)
– Intensity-based approaches: Identify a spatial transformation
that maximises some voxel-wise similarity measure (usually by
minimising the sum of squared differences between images;
BUT: assumes correspondence in image intensity [i.e., withinmodality consistency], and susceptible to poor starting
estimates)
– Hybrid approaches – combine intensity method with userdefined features
SPM: Spatial Normalisation
SPM adopts a two-stage procedure to determine
a transformation that minimises the sum of
squared differences between images:
Step 1: Linear transformation (12-parameter affine)
Step 2: Non-linear transformation (warping)
High-dimensionality problem
The affine and warping transformations are
constrained within an empirical Bayesian
framework (i.e., using prior knowledge of the
variability of head shape and size): “maximum a
posteriori” (MAP) estimates of the registration
parameters
Step 1: Affine Transformation
Determines the
optimum 12-parameter
affine transformation to
match the size and
position of the images
12 parameters = 3
translations and 3
rotations (rigid-body) +
3 shears and 3 zooms
Rotation
Shear
Translation
Zoom
Step 2: Non-linear Registration
Assumes prior approximate
registration with 12-parameter
affine step
Modelled by linear
combinations of smooth
discrete cosine basis functions
(3D)
Choice of basis functions
depend on distribution of
warps likely to be required
For speed and simplicity, uses
a “small” number of
parameters (~1000)
Matthew Brett
2-D visualisation
(horizontal and vertical
deformations):
Ashburner; HBF Chap 3
Brain
visualisation:
Source
Deformation
field
Template
Warped
image
Bayesian Framework
• Using Bayes rule, we can constrain (“regularise”) the nonlinear fit by
incorporating prior knowledge of the likely extent of deformations:
p(p|e) p(e|p) p(p)
(Bayes Rule)
p(p|e) is the a posteriori probability of parameters p given errors e
p(e|p) is the likelihood of observing errors e given parameters p
p(p) is the a priori probability of parameters p
• For maximum a posteriori (MAP) estimate, we minimise (taking logs):
H(p|e) H(e|p) + H(p)
(Gibbs potential)
H(e|p) (-log p(e|p)) is the squared difference between the images (error)
H(p) (-log p(p)) constrains parameters (penalises unlikely deformations)
is “regularisation” hyperparameter, weighting effect of “priors”
Rik Henson
Bayesian Constraints
Empirically generated priors
Algorithm simultaneously minimises:
– Sum of squared difference between
template and source image (update
weighting for each base)
– Squared distance between the
parameters and prior expectation
(i.e., deviation of the transform from
its expected value)
Bayesian constraints applied to both:
1) affine transformations
– based on empirical prior ranges
2) nonlinear deformations
– based on smoothness constraint
(minimising membrane energy)
Rik Henson
Bayesian Constraints
Template
image
Affine Registration
(2 = 472.1)
Non-linear
registration
with
regularisation
(2 = 302.7)
Non-linear
registration
without
regularisation
(2 = 287.3)
Without the Bayesian formulation, the non-linear spatial normalisation can
introduce unnecessary warping into the spatially normalised images
Normalisation: Caveats
Constrained to correct for only gross differences; residual variability is
accommodated by subsequent spatial smoothing before analysis
Structural alignment doesn’t imply functional alignment
– Differences in gyral anatomy and physiology between participants
leads to non-perfect fit. Strict mapping to template may create nonexistent features
– Brain pathology may disrupt the normalisation procedure because
matching susceptible to deviations from template image (-> can use
brain masks for lesions, etc.; weight different regions differently so they
have varied influence on the final solution)
Affine transforms not sufficient: Non-linear solutions are required
– Optimally, move each voxel around until it fits. Millions of dimensions.
– Trade off dimensionality against performance (potentially enormous
number of parameters needed to describe the non-linear
transformations that warp two images together; but much of the spatial
variability can be captured with just a few parameters)
Regularization: use prior information (Bayesian scheme) about what fit is
most likely (unlike rigid-body transformations where constraints are explicit,
when using many parameters, regularization is necessary to ensure voxels
remain close to their neighbours)
Normalisation: Solutions
Inspect images for distortions before
transforming
Adjust image position before normalisation
to reduce risk of local minima (i.e., best
starting estimate)
Intensity differences: Consider matching to
a local template
Image abnormalities: Cost-function masking
Sources:
Ashburner and Friston’s “Spatial
Normalization Using Basis Functions”
(Chapter 3, Human Brain Function, 2nd
ed.; http://www.fil.ion.ucl.ac.uk/spm/doc/books/hbf2/)
Rik Henson’s Preprocessing Slides:
– http://www.mrc-cbu.cam.ac.uk/Imaging/Common/rikSPMpreproc.ppt
Matthew Brett’s Spatial Processing Slides:
– http://www.mrccbu.cam.ac.uk/Imaging/Common/Orsay/jb_spatial.pdf