Interactive digital MR atlas of the pediatric brain

The interpretation of magnetic resonance (MR) images of the pediatric brain may require consultation of an atlas to determine if a perceived finding represents an abnormality. However, most hard-copy atlases show only a few levels of the brain at selected points of time in myelination, and therefore a simultaneous comparison of different age groups is difficult with a hard-copy approach. The authors believe that a digital atlas of the normal pediatric brain may be a more efficient way to present this information and that correct interpretation of potential abnormalities may be facilitated by the online atlas they have created (available for free download from http://radiology.seattlechildrens.org/teaching/pediatricbrainatlas). Images for the atlas were derived from Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine-compliant data sets from brain MR imaging in patients younger than 4 years. The images were interpreted as normal with respect to the appearance of the brain parenchyma. The software program used for viewing the atlas, written in C#, incorporates many features of a picture archiving and communication system viewer, such as linked scrolling and resizing. Simultaneous comparison of cases also is possible. The digital atlas facilitates learning about normal changes in the MR appearance of the pediatric brain, and it may be used during online interpretation of cases on a picture archiving and communication system.