ABSTRACT
PURPOSE: We present SlicerDMRI, an open-source software suite that enables research using diffusion magnetic resonance imaging (dMRI), the only modality that can map the white matter connections of the living human brain. SlicerDMRI enables analysis and visualization of dMRI data and is aimed at the needs of clinical research users. SlicerDMRI is built upon and deeply integrated with 3D Slicer, a National Institutes of Health-supported open-source platform for medical image informatics, image processing, and three-dimensional visualization. Integration with 3D Slicer provides many features of interest to cancer researchers, such as real-time integration with neuronavigation equipment, intraoperative imaging modalities, and multimodal data fusion. One key application of SlicerDMRI is in neurosurgery research, where brain mapping using dMRI can provide patient-specific maps of critical brain connections as well as insight into the tissue microstructure that surrounds brain tumors. PATIENTS AND METHODS: In this article, we focus on a demonstration of SlicerDMRI as an informatics tool to enable end-to-end dMRI analyses in two retrospective imaging data sets from patients with high-grade glioma. Analyses demonstrated here include conventional diffusion tensor analysis, advanced multifiber tractography, automated identification of critical fiber tracts, and integration of multimodal imagery with dMRI. RESULTS: We illustrate the ability of SlicerDMRI to perform both conventional and advanced dMRI analyses as well as to enable multimodal image analysis and visualization. We provide an overview of the clinical rationale for each analysis along with pointers to the SlicerDMRI tools used in each. CONCLUSION: SlicerDMRI provides open-source and clinician-accessible research software tools for dMRI analysis. SlicerDMRI is available for easy automated installation through the 3D Slicer Extension Manager.
Subject(s)
Brain Neoplasms/pathology , Brain Neoplasms/surgery , Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging/methods , Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted/methods , Image Processing, Computer-Assisted/methods , Software/standards , Aged , Algorithms , Brain Neoplasms/diagnostic imaging , Humans , Imaging, Three-Dimensional/methods , Male , Middle Aged , Retrospective StudiesABSTRACT
Diffusion MRI (dMRI) is the only noninvasive method for mapping white matter connections in the brain. We describe SlicerDMRI, a software suite that enables visualization and analysis of dMRI for neuroscientific studies and patient-specific anatomic assessment. SlicerDMRI has been successfully applied in multiple studies of the human brain in health and disease, and here, we especially focus on its cancer research applications. As an extension module of the 3D Slicer medical image computing platform, the SlicerDMRI suite enables dMRI analysis in a clinically relevant multimodal imaging workflow. Core SlicerDMRI functionality includes diffusion tensor estimation, white matter tractography with single and multi-fiber models, and dMRI quantification. SlicerDMRI supports clinical DICOM and research file formats, is open-source and cross-platform, and can be installed as an extension to 3D Slicer (www.slicer.org). More information, videos, tutorials, and sample data are available at dmri.slicer.org Cancer Res; 77(21); e101-3. ©2017 AACR.