CATNUS: Coordinate-Aware Thalamic Nuclei Segmentation Using T1-Weighted MRI

Fuente: arXiv
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Autori principali: Feng, Anqi, Bian, Zhangxing, Remedios, Samuel W., Hays, Savannah P., Dewey, Blake E., Colinco, Alexa, Zhuo, Jiachen, Benjamini, Dan, Prince, Jerry L.
Natura: Preprint
Pubblicazione: 2025
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author Feng, Anqi
Bian, Zhangxing
Remedios, Samuel W.
Hays, Savannah P.
Dewey, Blake E.
Colinco, Alexa
Zhuo, Jiachen
Benjamini, Dan
Prince, Jerry L.
author_facet Feng, Anqi
Bian, Zhangxing
Remedios, Samuel W.
Hays, Savannah P.
Dewey, Blake E.
Colinco, Alexa
Zhuo, Jiachen
Benjamini, Dan
Prince, Jerry L.
contents Accurate segmentation of thalamic nuclei from magnetic resonance images is important due to the distinct roles of these nuclei in overall brain function and to their differential involvement in neurological and psychiatric disorders. However, segmentation remains challenging given the small size of many nuclei, limited intrathalamic contrast and image resolution, and inter-subject anatomical variability. In this work, we present CATNUS (Coordinate-Aware Thalamic Nuclei Segmentation), segmenting 13 thalamic nuclei (or nuclear groups) using a 3D U-Net architecture enhanced with coordinate convolution layers, which provide more precise localization of both large and small nuclei. To support broad clinical applicability, we provide pre-trained model variants that can operate on quantitative T1 maps as well as on widely used magnetization-prepared rapid gradient echo (MPRAGE) and fast gray matter acquisition T1 inversion recovery (FGATIR) sequences. We benchmarked CATNUS against established methods, including FreeSurfer, THOMAS and HIPS-THOMAS, demonstrating improved segmentation accuracy and robust test-retest reliability across multiple nuclei. Furthermore, CATNUS demonstrated strong out-of-distribution generalization on traveling-subject datasets spanning multiple scanners, field strengths, and vendors, producing reliable and anatomically coherent segmentations across diverse acquisition conditions. Overall, CATNUS provides an accurate and generalizable solution for thalamic nuclei segmentation, with strong potential to facilitate large-scale neuroimaging studies and support real-world clinical assessment.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2512_05329
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle CATNUS: Coordinate-Aware Thalamic Nuclei Segmentation Using T1-Weighted MRI
Feng, Anqi
Bian, Zhangxing
Remedios, Samuel W.
Hays, Savannah P.
Dewey, Blake E.
Colinco, Alexa
Zhuo, Jiachen
Benjamini, Dan
Prince, Jerry L.
Image and Video Processing
Medical Physics
Accurate segmentation of thalamic nuclei from magnetic resonance images is important due to the distinct roles of these nuclei in overall brain function and to their differential involvement in neurological and psychiatric disorders. However, segmentation remains challenging given the small size of many nuclei, limited intrathalamic contrast and image resolution, and inter-subject anatomical variability. In this work, we present CATNUS (Coordinate-Aware Thalamic Nuclei Segmentation), segmenting 13 thalamic nuclei (or nuclear groups) using a 3D U-Net architecture enhanced with coordinate convolution layers, which provide more precise localization of both large and small nuclei. To support broad clinical applicability, we provide pre-trained model variants that can operate on quantitative T1 maps as well as on widely used magnetization-prepared rapid gradient echo (MPRAGE) and fast gray matter acquisition T1 inversion recovery (FGATIR) sequences. We benchmarked CATNUS against established methods, including FreeSurfer, THOMAS and HIPS-THOMAS, demonstrating improved segmentation accuracy and robust test-retest reliability across multiple nuclei. Furthermore, CATNUS demonstrated strong out-of-distribution generalization on traveling-subject datasets spanning multiple scanners, field strengths, and vendors, producing reliable and anatomically coherent segmentations across diverse acquisition conditions. Overall, CATNUS provides an accurate and generalizable solution for thalamic nuclei segmentation, with strong potential to facilitate large-scale neuroimaging studies and support real-world clinical assessment.
title CATNUS: Coordinate-Aware Thalamic Nuclei Segmentation Using T1-Weighted MRI
topic Image and Video Processing
Medical Physics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2512.05329