Patent ID: 9247894
Filing Date: 2016-02-02
CPC Classification: A61B,G01R,G06T,G16H

Claim Text:
1. A white-matter-enhancement apparatus comprising: a white-matter-enhanced image-creating computer processor that creates a white-matter-enhanced image based on a contrast image of a brain of a living body received from a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) apparatus, wherein white matter is enhanced by adjusting the contrast image in such a way that the white matter stands out, a cortex does not stand out, and branches of the white matter are visible; a display device that displays the white-matter-enhanced image; and a branching analysis computer processor that quantitatively measures at least an intensity of selected demarcating regions of the branches of the white matter in the white-matter-enhanced image and analyzes distinguishing characteristics of the brain, based on at least the intensity of the selected demarcating regions, wherein the selected demarcating regions are assigned as regions where specified functions and roles are performed in the brain of the living body; wherein the branching analysis computer processor quantitatively measures the intensity of the selected demarcating regions by counting one of a first number of black voxels and a second number of white voxels in the selected demarcating regions in a left brain and a right brain and analyzes at least left/right brain dominance as a distinguishing characteristic by calculating a Laterality Index LI according to a formula wherein L=the first number of black voxels or the second number of white voxels counted in the selected demarcating regions in the left brain, and R=the first number of black voxels or the second number of white voxels counted in the selected demarcating regions in the right brain, and wherein if LI is negative, left brain dominance is strong for the selected demarcating regions, and if LI is positive, right brain dominance is strong for the selected demarcating regions.