SBIR-STTR Award

Creating A Large-Scale Morphometric Baseline From Mri Brain Scans
Award last edited on: 7/14/10

Sponsored Program
SBIR
Awarding Agency
NIH : NIMH
Total Award Amount
$435,733
Award Phase
2
Solicitation Topic Code
-----

Principal Investigator
Andrew J Worth

Company Information

Neuromorphometrics Inc

22 Westminister Street
Somerville, MA 02144
   (617) 776-7844
   andy@neuromorphometrics.com
   www.neuromorphometrics.com
Location: Single
Congr. District: 07
County: Middlesex

Phase I

Contract Number: 1R43MH084358-01A1
Start Date: 00/00/00    Completed: 00/00/00
Phase I year
2008
Phase I Amount
$100,000
The objective of this project is to create a publicly available electronic neuroanatomy resource that will advance neuroscience research and spread neuroanatomical knowledge. We will label all neuroanatomical regions in a large number of publicly available MRI brain scans. Using semi- automatic software, technicians with extensive training will apply precisely defined measurement methods to make outlines around regions so that the entire brain is identified in every scan. We will then combine all of these results into a new kind of computerized atlas that can be used to 1) locate and identify brain regions in other scans, and 2) to interactively learn brain anatomy. We will make all of our results available to the public. Releasing this large-scale atlas will address a critical barrier to progress in the field of structural brain analysis by providing a "gold standard". This will enable the development of highly accurate automatic brain measurement systems. After a patient gets a MRI brain scan, these systems will provide numbers indicating the size of each brain region. For example, the hippocampus is a brain region involved in memory that shrinks in Alzheimer's disease. These numbers can be used for diagnosis and to guide treatment for a wide range of brain disorders.

Public Health Relevance:
The proposed project will help in the understanding of how the structure of the brain changes in response to neurological and psychiatric disorders. Knowing precisely where, how and how much the shape of the brain changes will improve public health because it is quantitative information that goes beyond the qualitative analysis that is currently performed in radiology today.

Public Health Relevance:
The proposed project will help in the understanding of how the structure of the brain changes in response to neurological and psychiatric disorders. Knowing precisely where, how and how much the shape of the brain changes will improve public health because it is quantitative information that goes beyond the qualitative analysis that is currently performed in radiology today.

Thesaurus Terms:
There Are No Thesaurus Terms On File For This Project.

Phase II

Contract Number: 5R43MH084358-02
Start Date: 9/30/08    Completed: 7/31/10
Phase II year
2009
Phase II Amount
$335,733
The objective of this project is to create a publicly available electronic neuroanatomy resource that will advance neuroscience research and spread neuroanatomical knowledge. We will label all neuroanatomical regions in a large number of publicly available MRI brain scans. Using semi- automatic software, technicians with extensive training will apply precisely defined measurement methods to make outlines around regions so that the entire brain is identified in every scan. We will then combine all of these results into a new kind of computerized atlas that can be used to 1) locate and identify brain regions in other scans, and 2) to interactively learn brain anatomy. We will make all of our results available to the public. Releasing this large-scale atlas will address a critical barrier to progress in the field of structural brain analysis by providing a ""gold standard"". This will enable the development of highly accurate automatic brain measurement systems. After a patient gets a MRI brain scan, these systems will provide numbers indicating the size of each brain region. For example, the hippocampus is a brain region involved in memory that shrinks in Alzheimer's disease. These numbers can be used for diagnosis and to guide treatment for a wide range of brain disorders.

Public Health Relevance:
The proposed project will help in the understanding of how the structure of the brain changes in response to neurological and psychiatric disorders. Knowing precisely where, how and how much the shape of the brain changes will improve public health because it is quantitative information that goes beyond the qualitative analysis that is currently performed in radiology today.

Thesaurus Terms:
21+ Years Old; Address; Adult; Age; Alzheimer; Alzheimer Disease; Alzheimer Sclerosis; Alzheimer Syndrome; Alzheimer's; Alzheimer's Disease; Alzheimers Dementia; Alzheimers Disease; Ammon Horn; Anatomic; Anatomical Sciences; Anatomy; Atlases; Au Element; Brain; Brain Diseases; Brain Disorders; Brain Region; Brain Scan; Businesses; Charge; Collection; Communities; Computer Programs; Computer Software; Cornu Ammonis; Data; Data Set; Dataset; Dementia, Alzheimer Type; Dementia, Primary Senile Degenerative; Dementia, Senile; Development; Diagnosis; Educational Process Of Instructing; Electronics; Encephalon; Encephalon Diseases; Encephalons; Flies; Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Gender; General Hospitals; Goals; Gold; Handedness; Hippocampus; Hippocampus (Brain); Hospitals, General; Human, Adult; Image; Intracranial Cns Disorders; Intracranial Central Nervous System Disorders; Investigators; Knowledge; Label; Laterality; Lead; Learning; Mr Imaging; Mr Tomography; Mri; Mri Scans; Mri, Functional; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Magnetic Resonance Imaging Scan; Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Functional; Maps; Massachusetts; Measurement; Medical Imaging, Magnetic Resonance / Nuclear Magnetic Resonance; Memory; Mental Disorders; Mental Health Disorders; Methods; Mind; Nmr Imaging; Nmr Tomography; Nervous System, Brain; Neuranatomies; Neuranatomy; Neuroanatomies; Neuroanatomy; Neurologic; Neurological; Neurosciences Research; Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Patients; Pb Element; Price; Primary Senile Degenerative Dementia; Principal Investigator; Programs (Pt); Programs [publication Type]; Protocol; Protocols Documentation; Psychiatric Disease; Psychiatric Disorder; Public Health; Radiology; Radiology Specialty; Radiology, General; Research Personnel; Research Resources; Researchers; Resources; Scanning; Scans, Mri; Science Of Anatomy; Series; Services; Software; Specific Qualifier Value; Specified; Structure; Students; System; System, Loinc Axis 4; Teaching; Time; Training; Unspecified Mental Disorder; Validation; Work; Zeugmatography; Adult Human (21+); Anatomy; Base; Brain Shape; Commercialization; Computer Program/Software; Computerized; Cost; Dementia Of The Alzheimer Type; Digital; Experience; Fmri; Fly; Heavy Metal Pb; Heavy Metal Lead; Hippocampal; Imaging; Improved; Instructor; Mental Illness; Novel; Pricing; Primary Degenerative Dementia; Programs; Psychological Disorder; Public Health Medicine (Field); Public Health Relevance; Response; Senile Dementia Of The Alzheimer Type; Teacher; Tool