Use of SVM methods with surface-based cortical and volumetric subcortical measurements to detect Alzheimer's disease

Here, we examine morphological changes in cortical thickness of patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) using image analysis algorithms for brain structure segmentation and study automatic classification of AD patients using cortical and volumetric data. Cortical thickness of AD patients (n=14) was measured using MRI cortical surface-based analysis and compared with healthy subjects (n=20). Data was analyzed using an automated algorithm for tissue segmentation and classification. A Support Vector Machine (SVM) was applied over the volumetric measurements of subcortical and cortical structures to separate AD patients from controls. The group analysis showed cortical thickness reduction in the superior temporal lobe, parahippocampal gyrus, and enthorhinal cortex in both hemispheres. We also found cortical thinning in the isthmus of cingulate gyrus and middle temporal gyrus at the right hemisphere, as well as a reduction of the cortical mantle in areas previously shown to be associated with AD. We also confirmed that automatic classification algorithms (SVM) could be helpful to distinguish AD patients from healthy controls. Moreover, the same areas implicated in the pathogenesis of AD were the main parameters driving the classification algorithm. While the patient sample used in this study was relatively small, we expect that using a database of regional volumes derived from MRI scans of a large number of subjects will increase the SVM power of AD patient identification.