Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) provides
an unparalleled view of the living human brain, but most information
obtained from these scans is only qualitative. Quantitative measurements
of volume, shape, and location can be used to diagnose and evaluate
the progression and response to treatment of disorders such as
schizophrenia, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer's disease,
cancer, and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, and can also
provides a structural basis for functional (fMRI) analyses. However,
a precise quantitative analysis is prohibitively difficult and
time consuming to perform because it requires extensive training
and attention to detail and because completely automatic methods
are not available.
Neuromorphometrics (Somerville MA, (617) 776-7844, http://neuromorphometrics.com)
was formed to address the need for a service to obtain
quantitative brain measurements using MRI. Specific brain structures
are measured in MRI scans. Levels of services range
from a simple, mostly automatic analysis to a comprehensive anatomical
segmentation and localization that is validated by a certified neuroanatomist.
In addition to raw measurements, graphical presentations, surface
renderings, and movies (rotations and fly-throughs) can be provided
along with shape and statistical analyses that are
calculated with respect to continually growing reference data bases.
The market for a neuromorphometric service
currently consists of Neuroscience research projects involving
brain disorders that appear
as macroscopic structural changes. However, since this initial market
serves as the proving grounds for methods that document diagnosis
and response to treatment, this helps in the discovery and application
of new treatments. Money is saved and accuracy is increased
in drug trials by replacing expensive batteries of psychological
tests with quantitative results from imaging studies. Contract Research
Organizations & Pharmaceutical companies have already begun to
use these measurements as surrogate endpoints leading towards FDA
approval for new drug applications. Given trends such as telemedicine
and "evidence based" healthcare management, Radiologists,
Neurologists, and Psychiatrists will eventually come to rely on quantitative
neuromorphometrics not only to improve, but also to document both
the diagnosis and measurement of treatment response.
