6 shows the mean curvature of the original cortical surface plotted on partial flattened surface. The locations and geometric details of the sulci, as revealed by the mean curvature calculations, are even more strongly apparent in this figure, since we can see the entire surface. It is this type of information that many believe will allow further advancement in brain mapping using medical imaging. Mean curvature plotted onto the partial flattened cortical surface. The presented method for finding the cortical surface in MR data has the potential to preserve even the deepest folds in the cortex using deformable surface models.
Several possibilities exist, however, for further improvement.
For example, more sophisticated segmentation algorithms are available which take into account the spatial dependence of image intensities and MRI artifacts, such as intrascan intensity inhomogeneities. In order to take full advantage of our method, however, a fuzzy segmentation output is required. Also, an improvement in the initial cortical surface may be obtained by using a different isosurface threshold, or by computing an isosurface on a function of the membership functions. 467-480, June, 1999. Conf. on Comp.