ABSTRACT
This study, in particular the design of computer aided detection systems for medical applications (Calvini et al. 2009) and the diagnosis of early stages of Alzheimer’s disease (Chincarini et al. 2011), is part of a research project, funded by the Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN), aimed to develop suitable techniques in Medical Imaging for Neurodegenerative Diseases (MIND). In recent years the issue of brain segmentation, both in its main components (grey matter, white matter and cerebro-spinal fluid) or in chosen anatomical regions, has been one of the main topics in neuroimaging research. Segmentation of the hippocampus, in particular, represents one of the biggest challenges in medical image processing. The hippocampus is a complex brain structure with a primary role in memory and learning, and involvement in a number of other cognitive functions.
