AutoRegister: A system for enhancing the accuracy of tumor change detection

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This project proposes to build an integrated software-based system for enhancing the accuracy of tumor change detection. The intent of the system, called AutoRegister, which is to be deployed on a clinical magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner platform, is to automate the alignment of a patient's brain scan with that of a prior scan, such that subsequent offline tumor measurements do not have error introduced solely by differing slice orientation. While functionallysimilar to current auto-alignment technologies such as Siemens AutoAlign, the proposed technology is not sensitive to the inherent noise of such subject-nonspecific landmark- based techniques. Additionally the proposed technology is based upon a novel registration algorithm that is immune to outlier anatomy, such as a tumor, which often adversely affects techniques such as AutoAlign. In the United States, there are an estimated 13,000 deaths per year due to tumors in the primary central nervous system. Sta