Individualizing neuro-anatomical atlases using a massively parallel computer

An anatomical atlas is an annotated volume of images, charts or tables that systematically illustrate an anatomical part. Atlas annotations often include structure names, descriptions, locations and functions, as well as other information specific to the atlas anatomy. Individualized digital atlases can be generated by using a computer to transform the shape of the atlas into the shape of images taken of the individual. Generalized electronic atlases of the head, created from MRI scans and labeled by experts, are currently available. The algorithms in this research create individualized, subject-specific atlases.