Basal Ganglia Matching Tools 2- Tutorial

Transcription

1 Basal Ganglia Matching Tools 2- Tutorial Minimum system hardware requirements: - Processor: Pentium 4 or Athlon with speed of 1 GHz - RAM: 256 MB - Hard disk space: 40 MB. System requirements 1. Insert the installation CD-ROM in the drive. Installation of Basal Ganglia Matching Tools 2. Open the "My computer" folder and open the CD-ROM drive that contains the installation CD. Recommended hardware requirements: - Processor: Pentium 4 or Athlon with speed of 3 GHz - RAM: 512 MB - Hard disk space: 100 MB The space used on the hard disk is directly proportional to the number of reoriented files on which matching has been performed. To give an idea of the space used, an example with the following characteristics is used: - 2-byte integers - 128x128x90 matrix When loaded into the system, this occupies about 3 MB. For each file loaded, a CA-CP reorientation is performed, producing a file with the following characteristics: - 4-byte real numbers - 128x128x128 matrix This represents an 8 MB file. The matching phase produces a file of the type: - 2-byte integers - 128x128x90 matrix About 3 MB also in Analyze format. As a result, to complete the entire matching procedure, 15 MB are required on average. Operating System: The system has been developed for the Windows XP platform.

2 3. Select the files on the CD-ROM and copy to a folder on the hard disk, for example in the Programs folder. 4. Launch BGV2.exe by double-clicking. 5. The following three messages will be displayed successively. For each message, click OK. 6. After the above operations have been completed, the program start window is displayed. Basal Ganglia Matching Tools 2 The application comprises a set of graphical interfaces that give the user access to the following functions: Data loading via the FILE pull-down menu and the OPEN command. Export of the results for processed cases in Excel format. Reorientation of the previously loaded cases in the CA-CP direction, in direct or sequential mode. Positioning of ROIs in automatic or manual mode. Modification of ROI positioning parameters. Viewing of results. Possibility of creating reports.

3 Loading a file New cases can be loaded into the system via the FILES pull-down menu. Select the IMPORT option. A standard loading window is displayed and can be used to select the analysis case. Concerning the reorientation part of the image, the user may use the following commands: Click the OPEN button to load the desired file and, if the system recognizes the data format, the following window is displayed. 1- To scroll through slices, separately on the three planes: coronal, sagittal, and axial. 2- To zoom during processing. 3- To orient the images according to the most appropriate PITCH, ROLL, and YAW angle. 4- To sum several slices on the same plane.

4 5- The user can select the most appropriate look-up table for his or her requirements using the pull-down menu. For example: 7- The PROCESS command allows the application of the orientation modifications to images and the application of the volumetric ROIs The aforementioned ROIs are positioned in automatic mode, but the user can change their position by moving the white frame on the image itself. After manually repositioning the ROI, click the PROCESS button again. In the top image, the "spectrum" look-up table has been applied while in the lower image the "X rain" look-up table has been applied 6- The SAVE CA-CP command saves the image reorientation

5 Clicking the PROCESS button displays the processed image and the application of the ROIs, and also displays a series of useful data on the left side of the screen: The graphs show two lower confidence limits delineating three regions in the graph. In addition, the corresponding values for healthy subjects can be viewed by clicking DISPLAY NORMAL SUBJECTS. Clicking DETAILS displays the following screen containing graphs plotting age on the x-axis and caudate (right and left indicated with two different symbols) and putamen (right and left indicated with two different symbols) values on the y-axis. Click REPORT to display a window where the numbers of the axial slices to be included in the report can be entered. For example, to obtain axial slices 65, 66, and 67, select the corresponding axial slices then click ADD SELECTED or REMOVE SELECTED, one after the other, to add or remove that particular slice to or from the report.

6 The report may be in Acrobat or Word format. For example: 8- The SAVE MATCH command allows the matched images to be saved. Click SAVE MATCH to display the following screen showing the patient details and the rotation angles applied during the reorientation phase, background counts, and ROI counts. In addition to the information relating to caudate and putamen counting, the images of the previously selected axial slices are also present. Click SAVE to save the data.

7 TEST option Entering the TEST option (upper left) results in the following pulldown menu being displayed Using the LOAD command, the program lets you select a series of parameters (age, gender, pathology, etc.) used as filters to search for patients matching the aforementioned requirements. For example, if you would like to find patients in the database aged 60, female, over the period 10-JAN-09 to 16-MAR-09, apply filters using the following mode and click LOAD, to the right of the window. The program then searches for loaded patients with these characteristics and lists them. Click LOAD to display the following window: You can then highlight one of the SELECTED PATIENTS and obtain corresponding information in the panel window. In addition to the patient data, the window contains data relating to the reorientation angle of patient images or the caudate, putamen, and background counts. Lastly, the user may use the LOAD/MODIFY CA-CP and LOAD/MODIFY MATCH commands for one file only, and the MATCH command for several files at the same time, as shown below.

8 SETTING option In the tool bar, use the SETTING --- EDIT command to display the window With regard to the background ROI, the program allows its thickness, curvature, and sharpness to be modified. The SETTING window can be closed using: Undo all changes Apply the desired changes Reset to default conditions Data exportation This operation allows the ROI-related counts for the cases already processed to be viewed in another format and can be accessed via the EXPORT option of the FILE pull-down menu. This window shows the automatic positioning of the ROIs in the coronal and axial planes. Use the adjacent buttons to modify the position of the ROIs. The COLS command moves the ROI right or left. The ROWS command moves it forwards or backwards. The SLICES command moves it in the cranial-caudale direction. Click EXPORT to export the files.

9 To delete cases that have already been examined, open the Images, Ca- Cp, or Match tab depending on the case, then delete the files. To delete items present in the pull-down menus diagnoses, pathologies, etc., open the Excel file that contains the patient data and process this file. N.B.: When the processing of a case has been completed, exit by clicking Close test (do not load another patient until you have exited processing of the previous patient, otherwise results pertaining to the previous patient may remain in the report!). In the event of any problems, use the following contacts: Dr. U.P. Guerra, Nuclear Medicine, Ospedali Riuniti di Bergamo: uguerra@ospedaliriuniti.bergamo.it Dr. G.L. Poli, Medical Physics, Ospedali Riuniti di Bergamo Gianlucapoli@ospedaliriuniti.bergamo.it Dr. Flavio Nobili flaviomariano.nobili@hsanmartino.liguria.it You will receive a prompt response! To change the report title, click Settings and Hospital information, then enter the desired title (60 characters max.).