Electronic Brain Atlases: Features and Applications

Abstract

This chapter addresses the construction, features, applications, and potential of electronic brain atlases for neuroradiology and neuroeducation. An electronic brain atlas database with complementary atlases containing gross anatomy, subcortical structures, brain connections, and sulcal patterns was constructed. This database contains two-dimensional and three-dimensional, mutually coregistered atlases with about 1000 structures and 400 sulcal patterns.

Six commercial applications have been developed and described here based on this database suitable for neuroradiology, neuroeducation, human brain mapping, and stereotactic functional neurosurgery. Three applications are low-cost CD-ROMs: The Electronic Clinical Brain Atlas, Brain Atlas for Functional Imaging, and the Cerefy Student Brain Atlas. The Cerefy Neuroradiology Atlas is a web-enabled application.

The use of the electronic brain atlas as a tool for faster scan interpretation, facilitating communicating information, increasing confidence, and speeding up learning is illustrated. The atlas: (1) reduces time in image interpretation by providing interactive multiple labeling, triplanar display, higher panellation than the scan itself, multi-modal fusion, and display of underlying anatomy for functional images; (2) facilitates the communication of information about the interpreted scans from the neuroradiologist to other clinicians and medical students; (3) increases the neuroradiologist’s confidence; and (4) reduces time in learning neuroanatomy and scan interpretation.