MRI‐based axis‐referenced morphometric model corresponding to lamellar organization for assessing hippocampal atrophy in dementia

Abstract

Research on the local hippocampal atrophy for early detection of dementia has gained considerable attention. However, accurately quantifying subtle atrophy remains challenging in existing morphological methods due to the lack of consistent biological correspondence with the complex curving regions like the hippocampal head. Thereby, this article presents an innovative axis‐referenced morphometric model (ARMM) that follows the anatomical lamellar organization of the hippocampus, which capture its precise and consistent longitudinal curving trajectory. Specifically, we establish an “axis‐referenced coordinate system” based on a 7 T ex vivo hippocampal atlas following its entire curving longitudinal axis and orthogonal distributed lamellae. We then align individual hippocampi by deforming this template coordinate system to target spaces using boundary‐guided diffeomorphic transformation, while ensuring that the lamellar vectors adhere to the constraint of medial‐axis geometry. Finally, we measure local thickness and curvatures based on the coordinate system and boundary surface reconstructed from vector tips. The morphometric accuracy is evaluated by comparing reconstructed surfaces with those directly extracted from 7 T and 3 T MRI hippocampi. The results demonstrate that ARMM achieves the best performance, particularly in the curving head, surpassing the state‐of‐the‐art morphological models. Additionally, morphological measurements from ARMM exhibit higher discriminatory power in distinguishing early Alzheimer's disease from mild cognitive impairment compared to volume‐based measurements. Overall, the ARMM offers a precise morphometric assessment of hippocampal morphology on MR images, and sheds light on discovering potential image markers for neurodegeneration associated with hippocampal impairment.