Dyslexia Diagnostics by Centerline-Based Shape Analysis of the Corpus Callosum

Dyslexia severely impairs learning abilities, so that improved diagnostic methods are called for. Neuropathological studies have revealed abnormal anatomy of the Corpus Callosum (CC) in dyslexic brains. We explore a possibility of distinguishing between dyslexic and normal (control) brains by quantitative CC shape analysis in 3D magnetic resonance images (MRI). Our approach consists of the three steps: (i) segmenting the CC from a given 3D MRI using the learned CC shape and visual appearance; (ii) extracting the centerline of the CC; and (iii) classifying the subject as dyslexic or normal based on the estimated length of the CC centerline using a _-nearest neighbor classifier. Experiments revealed significant differences (at the 95% confidence level) between the CC centerlines for 14 normal and 16 dyslexic subjects. Our initial classification suggests the proposed centerline-based shape analysis of the CC is a promising supplement to the current dyslexia diagnostics.