Mathematical and Computational Analysis of Shape from MR Images for the Study of Multiple Sclerosis

Everyday, three Canadians are diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS), which affects the brain and spinal cord, causing lesions and atrophy. MS produces deformation in the central nervous system, causing disability and in extreme cases, death. In the human brain, one of the many structures affected by MS is the corpus collosum. The corpus collosum contains millions of nerve bundles which connect the two brain hemispheres by acting as a bridge for the inter-hemispheric communication. Deformation of the corpus collosum, therefore, causes disruption of nerve impulses along the nerve fibres. Mathematical and computational analysis of the corpus collosum’s shape deformation, in serial studies, is a good metric for calculating the progression of MS in patients. Today, magnetic resonance imaging, or MRI, is widely considered a key tool for structural and functional imaging of the anatomy of the human brain. This research project will study medical image analysis techniques, algorithms and tools for better shape analysis of the corpus collosum in MRI’s.

Faculty Supervisor:

Dr. Ghassan Hamarneh

Student:

Omer Ishaq

Partner:

MS/MRI Research Group UBC

Discipline:

Computer science

Sector:

Life sciences

University:

Simon Fraser University