Computer assisted mapping in quantitative analysis of cerebral positron emission tomograms

For quantitative analysis of CT of the brain, an interactive FORTRAN program was developed to provide a time saving mapping procedure with high, largely user-independent reproducibility and flexible adaptation to individual anatomical variations. Program scope and functions are demonstrated, and results obtained in a group of seven normal volunteers are presented for positron emission tomography using the [18F]-2-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose (FDG) method. Basically, the procedure is designed as a two step process: first, a region raw contour is defined geometrically on the basis of local Cartesian or polar coordinates relative to the whole brain contour; second, the final region is delimited within the raw region, in the FDG images according to relative local tissue activity. Although all parameters for mapping a brain slice are stored in a standard parameter file ensuring reproducibility and comparability, interactive control of all steps permits user-guided corrections whenever necessary. Numerical results closely correspond to the data obtained in a previous study of normal subjects with individual manual mapping; discrimination between gray and white matter is in good agreement with theoretical predictions. The program can be easily adapted to other CT techniques.