PCcS-RAU-Net: Automated parcellated Corpus callosum segmentation from brain MRI images using modified residual attention U-Net

Background

The Corpus callosum (Cc) in the cerebral cortex is a bundle of neural fibers that facilitates inter-hemispheric communication. The Cc area and area of its sub-regions (also known as parcels) have been examined as a biomarker for cortical pathology and differential diagnosis in neurodegenerative diseases such as Autism, Alzheimer’s disease (AD), and more. Manual segmentation and parcellation of Cc are laborious and time-consuming. The present work proposes a novel work of automated parcellated Cc (PCc) segmentation that will serve as a potential biomarker to study and diagnose neurological disorders in brain MRI images.

Method

In this perspective, the present work aims to develop an automated PCc segmentation from mid-sagittal T1- weighted (w) 2D brain MRI images using a deep learning-based fully convolutional network, a modified residual attention U-Net, referred to as PCcS-RAU-Net. The model has been modified to use a multi-class segmentation configuration with five target classes (parcels): rostrum, genu, mid-body, isthmus and splenium.

Results

The experimental research uses two benchmark MRI datasets, ABIDE and OASIS. The proposed PCcS-RAU-Net outperformed existing methods on the ABIDE dataset with a DSC of 97.10% and MIoU of 94.43%. Furthermore, the model's performance is validated on the OASIS and Real clinical image (RCI) data and hence verifies the model’s generalization capability.

Conclusion

The proposed PCcS-RAU-Net model extracts essential characteristics such as the total area of the Cc (TCcA) to categorize MRI slices into healthy controls (HC) and disease groups. Also, sub-regional areas, Cc1A to Cc5A, help study atrophy progression for early diagnosis.