Constrained manifold learning for the characterization of pathological deviations from normality

International audienceThis paper describes a technique to (1) learn the representation of a pathological motion pattern from a given population, and (2) compare individuals to this population. Our hypothesis is that this pattern can be modeled as a deviation from normal motion by means of non-linear embedding techniques. Each subject is represented by a 2D map of local motion abnormalities, obtained from a statistical atlas of myocardial motion built from a healthy population. The algorithm estimates a manifold from a set of patients with varying degrees of the same disease, and compares individuals to the training population using a mapping to the manifold and a distance to normality along the manifold. The approach extends recent manifold learning techniques by constraining the manifold to pass by a physiologically meaningful origin representing a normal motion pattern. Interpolation techniques using locally adjustable kernel improve the accuracy of the method. The technique is applied in the context of cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT), focusing on a specific motion pattern of intra-ventricular dyssynchrony called septal flash (SF). We estimate the manifold from 50 CRT candidates with SF and test it on 37 CRT candidates and 21 healthy volunteers. Experiments highlight the relevance of nonlinear techniques to model a pathological pattern from the training set and compare new individuals to this pattern

Characterizing Pathological Deviations from Normality using Constrained Manifold-Learning

International audienceWe propose a technique to represent a pathological pattern as a deviation from normality along a manifold structure. Each subject is represented by a map of local motion abnormalities, obtained from a statistical atlas of motion built from a healthy population. The algorithm learns a manifold from a set of patients with varying degrees of the same pathology. The approach extends recent manifold-learning techniques by constraining the manifold to pass by a physiologically meaningful origin representing a normal motion pattern. Individuals are compared to the manifold population through a distance that combines a mapping to the manifold and the path along the manifold to reach its origin. The method is applied in the context of cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT), focusing on a specific motion pattern of intra-ventricular dyssyn-chrony called septal flash (SF). We estimate the manifold from 50 CRT candidates with SF and test it on 38 CRT candidates and 21 healthy volunteers. Experiments highlight the need of nonlinear techniques to learn the studied data, and the relevance of the computed distance for comparing individuals to a specific pathological pattern

Riemannian Geometry of Functional Connectivity Matrices for Multi-Site Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Data Harmonization

Riemannian geometry; Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder; Functional connectivityGeometria riemanniana; Trastorn per dèficit d'atenció/hiperactivitat; Connectivitat funcionalGeometría riemanniana; Trastorno por déficit de atención/hiperactividad; Conectividad funcionalThe use of multi-site datasets in neuroimaging provides neuroscientists with more statistical power to perform their analyses. However, it has been shown that the imaging-site introduces variability in the data that cannot be attributed to biological sources. In this work, we show that functional connectivity matrices derived from resting-state multi-site data contain a significant imaging-site bias. To this aim, we exploited the fact that functional connectivity matrices belong to the manifold of symmetric positive-definite (SPD) matrices, making it possible to operate on them with Riemannian geometry. We hereby propose a geometry-aware harmonization approach, Rigid Log-Euclidean Translation, that accounts for this site bias. Moreover, we adapted other Riemannian-geometric methods designed for other domain adaptation tasks and compared them to our proposal. Based on our results, Rigid Log-Euclidean Translation of multi-site functional connectivity matrices seems to be among the studied methods the most suitable in a clinical setting. This represents an advance with respect to previous functional connectivity data harmonization approaches, which do not respect the geometric constraints imposed by the underlying structure of the manifold. In particular, when applying our proposed method to data from the ADHD-200 dataset, a multi-site dataset built for the study of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, we obtained results that display a remarkable correlation with established pathophysiological findings and, therefore, represent a substantial improvement when compared to the non-harmonization analysis. Thus, we present evidence supporting that harmonization should be extended to other functional neuroimaging datasets and provide a simple geometric method to address it

Image-based estimation of myocardial acceleration using TDFFD: a phantom study

International audienceIn this paper, we propose to estimate myocardial acceleration using a temporal di↵eomorphic free-form deformation (TDFFD) algorithm. The use of TDFFD has the advantage of providing B-spline parameterized velocities, thus temporally smooth, which is an asset for the computation of acceleration. The method is tested on 3D+t echocar-diographic sequences from a realistic physical heart phantom, in which ground truth displacement is known in some regions. Peak endocardial acceleration (PEA) error was 20.4%, the main hypothesis for error being the low temporal resolution of the sequences. The allure of the acceleration profile was reasonably preserved. Our method suggests a non-invasive technique to measure cardiac acceleration that may be used to improve the monitoring of cardiac mechanics and consecutive therapy planning

Myocardial motion estimation combining tissue Doppler and B-mode echocardiographic images

International audienceWe present a registration framework that combines both tissue Doppler and B-mode echocardiographic sequences. The estimated spatiotemporal transform is diffeomorphic, and calculated by modeling its corresponding velocity field using continuous B-splines. A new cost function using both B-mode image voxel intensities and Doppler velocities is also proposed. Registration accuracy was evaluated on synthetic data with known ground truth. Results showed that our method allows quantifying wall motion with higher accuracy than when using a single modality. On patient data, both displacement and velocity curves were compared with the ones obtained from widely used commercial software using either B-mode images or TDI. Our method demonstrated to be more robust to image noise while being independent from the beam angle

Learning pathological deviations from a normal pattern of myocardial motion: Added value for CRT studies?

International audienceStrong links exist between mechanical dyssynchrony and the response to cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT). Recent publications recommend identifying correctable dyssynchrony patterns with a specific motion and deformation signature. The learning of these patterns is visual and highly subjective. We take advantage of statistical atlas and dimensionality reduction tools to learn a representation of these patterns. We hypothesize that myocardial motion patterns belong or lie close to a non-linear manifold, and model them as a pathological deviation from normality. Furthermore, we propose distances to compare new subjects with those patterns and with normality. We evaluate the value of this approach on 2D echocardiographic sequences from CRT candidates at baseline, with pacing on, and at one-year follow-up. We demonstrate that relating pattern changes with patient response is valuable, and paves the ground towards better therapy planning

Image based cardiac acceleration map using statistical shape and 3D+t myocardial tracking models; in-vitro study on heart phantom

International audienceIt has been demonstrated that the acceleration signal has potential to monitor heart function and adaptively optimize Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy (CRT) systems. In this paper, we propose a non-invasive method for computing myocardial acceleration from 3D echocardiographic sequences. Displacement of the myocardium was estimated using a two-step approach: (1) 3D automatic segmentation of the myocardium at end-diastole using 3D Active Shape Models (ASM); (2) propagation of this segmentation along the sequence using non-rigid 3D+t image registration (temporal diffeomorphic free-form-deformation, TDFFD). Acceleration was obtained locally at each point of the myocardium from local displacement. The framework has been tested on images from a realistic physical heart phantom (DHP-01, Shelley Medical Imaging Technologies, London, ON, CA) in which the displacement of some control regions was known. Good correlation has been demonstrated between the estimated displacement function from the algorithms and the phantom setup. Due to the limited temporal resolution, the acceleration signals are sparse and highly noisy. The study suggests a non-invasive technique to measure the cardiac acceleration that may be used to improve the monitoring of cardiac mechanics and optimization of CRT