ShapeTools Data Analysis Protocols
Introduction
This web page describes some neurological data analysis protocols that may be performed with
the ShapeTools application programs. Because all ShapeTools applications are written in the Java
programming language, they are highly portable: data analysis protocols that utilize these tools
may be performed by research groups anywhere in the world.
The tools are freely available to the public via the LONI / CCB
Software Download
web site. If you publish research based on these tools, please acknowledge their use in your publications. We'd also
appreciate being informed, so that we know our tools are being used.
Medial Core analysis
This analysis enables researchers to identify and compare surface changes (deformations and expansions)
for a population of shapes. It does so by comparing the distance from the vertices of each
shape to the mid line of the shape - its Medial Core. Characterization of each point in this way essentially
introduces a common reference system (the medial core distance) across the population being analyzed.
Details are available
here.
Fly Wing Analysis
This analysis uses 2d landmark warping to construct a map relating sets of landmarks.
The resulting transformation may be applied to arbitrary points in the reference space.
This allows warping of the images used (to identify the landmarks) to validate the
transform. These transformations may also be used as the basis for other comparative measures.
Details are available
here (version 1:
here).
Surface Warping Protocol
This analysis warps a collection of shapes to an atlas. The warp is guided by contours provided by the user. The resulting shapes will have anatomically homologous vertices.
Details are available
here
