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Whole Brain Segmentation
Bruce R. Fischl, David H. Salat, Evelina Busa, Marilyn Albert, Megan Dieterich, Christian Haselgrove, Andre J. W. van der Kouwe, Ronald Killiany et al.. Neuron, 2002-01-01
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
The study presents a technique for automatically assigning a neuroanatomical label to each voxel in an MRI volume using probabilistic information from a manually labeled training set. This method assigns one of 37 labels to each voxel and utilizes a registration procedure that is robust to anatomical variability. The technique was shown to have accuracy comparable to manual labeling and sufficient sensitivity to detect volume changes in noncortical structures associated with probable Alzheimer's disease.
Key findings
- The current method assigns one of 37 labels to each voxel, including left and right caudate, putamen, pallidum, thalamus, lateral ventricles, hippocampus, and amygdala.
- The classification technique employs a registration procedure that is robust to anatomical variability, including the ventricular enlargement typically associated with neurological diseases and aging.
- The technique is shown to be comparable in accuracy to manual labeling, and of sufficient sensitivity to robustly detect changes in the volume of noncortical structures that presage the onset of probable Alzheimer's disease.
Why it matters
Concerns whole brain segmentation, meaning the division of a brain image into its separate structures. It is an image-analysis method for research and does not treat or prevent Alzheimer's disease.
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Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 62/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Neuron) |
| Journal's citation record | 4 / 4 | Neuron: journal h-index 689 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 1 / 5 | 2002 — older than 20 years, still counted |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 7 / 7 | Cited 8,774 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 5 / 5 | 337.5 citations a year over 26 year(s) since 2002 |
| Impact for its field and year | 5 / 6 | Cited 32.5× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 5 / 6 | Cited by 111 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 4 / 4 | Cited 1,667 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 4 / 4 | Last-listed author Anders Martin Dale: h-index 185 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 3 / 3 | Harvard University: institution h-index 3,235 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 2 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 4 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 11832223) |
| Free to read | 2 / 2 | Free to read |
| Total | 62 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
Full text: free to read — OpenAlex lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 6 Feb 1020).
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. The record's author list ends in “et al.”, so not every author is named. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Fischl, B. R., Salat, D. H., Busa, E., Albert, M., Dieterich, M., Haselgrove, C., et al. (2002). Whole Brain Segmentation. Neuron. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0896-6273(02)00569-x
Vancouver
Fischl BR, Salat DH, Busa E, Albert M, Dieterich M, Haselgrove C, et al. Whole Brain Segmentation. Neuron. 2002. doi:10.1016/s0896-6273(02)00569-x. PMID: 11832223.
BibTeX
@article{fischl2002-11832223,
author = {Fischl, Bruce R. and Salat, David H. and Busa, Evelina and Albert, Marilyn and Dieterich, Megan and Haselgrove, Christian and van der Kouwe, Andre J. W. and Killiany, Ronald and others},
title = {{Whole Brain Segmentation}},
journal = {Neuron},
year = {2002},
doi = {10.1016/s0896-6273(02)00569-x},
pmid = {11832223},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/s0896-6273(02)00569-x}
}
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Referenced by this study and also in the alzhub library, so you can read them here.
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111 studies in the alzhub library list this one in their references. Showing the 8 highest-scoring.