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Updated: Mar 26, 2026
Identification of Disease-related Spatial Covariance Patterns using Neuroimaging Data
Published on: June 26, 2013
A MS-lesion pattern discrimination plot based on geostatistics
Robert Marschallinger1, Paul Schmidt2, Peter Hofmann1
1Interfaculty Department of Geoinformatics Z_GIS Univ. Salzburg Schillerstr. 305020 Salzburg Austria; Department of Neurology Christian Doppler Medical Centre Paracelsus Medical University Ignaz Harrer-Straße 795020 Salzburg Austria.
Introduction:
A geostatistical approach to characterize MS-lesion patterns based on their geometrical properties is presented.
Methods:
A dataset of 259 binary MS-lesion masks in MNI space was subjected to directional variography. A model function was fit to express the observed spatial variability in x, y, z directions by the geostatistical parameters Range and Sill.
Results:
Parameters Range and Sill correlate with MS-lesion pattern surface complexity and total lesion volume. A scatter plot of ln(Range) versus ln(Sill), classified by pattern anisotropy, enables a consistent and clearly arranged presentation of MS-lesion patterns based on geometry: the so-called MS-Lesion Pattern Discrimination Plot.
Conclusions:
The geostatistical approach and the graphical representation of results are considered efficient exploratory data analysis tools for cross-sectional, follow-up, and medication impact analysis.
