Distributed processing of medical diagnostic data for early detection and classification of brain-related disorders

人脑是一个非常复杂的器官，它决定着我们的感觉、情感、记忆、智力、创造力、思想和行动。在人类大脑的深处，隐藏着许多当今医学之谜的答案。癫痫、精神分裂症、阿尔茨海默病、抑郁症、帕金森病、压力、多发性硬化症、学习障碍和自闭症是影响加拿大和地球仪数百万人的神经系统疾病的例子。现在已知许多这类疾病会对大脑白色物质中的神经纤维束造成损害。另一方面，这种损伤可以通过弥散加权磁共振成像（DW-MRI）检测和评估。这使得DW-MRI成为医学成像的独特工具，有可能彻底改变神经诊断领域。不幸的是，收集DW-MRI数据是一个相对漫长的过程，这阻碍了DW-MRI应用于许多神经系统患者，包括儿童和痴呆症患者。因此，DW-MRI的全部诊断潜力仍未实现。为了解决这个问题，在本项目中，我们将开发快速准确采集DW-MRI数据的方法。我们的方法将减少DW-MRI扫描的持续时间，从而提高其实用价值。随后，根据获得的数据，我们将计算诊断生物标志物，用于早期检测和分类各种神经系统疾病，如精神分裂症和创伤后综合征。如果可行，我们的技术将：1）将DW-MRI诊断的适用性扩展到更广泛的神经系统患者群体，2）为从业者提供早期检测神经系统疾病的先进方法，以及3）提高MRI设备的可及性，让更多的加拿大患者获得这种非凡的医学成像工具的优势。

The human brain is an organ of extraordinary complexity that determines our sensations, emotions, memory, intelligence, creativity, thought and action. Deep within the recesses of the human brain lie the answers to many of today's medical mysteries. Epilepsy, schizophrenia, Alzheimer's disease, depression, Parkinson's disease, stress, multiple sclerosis, learning disabilities and autism are examples of neurological disorders which affect millions in Canada and around the globe. Many of such disorders are nowadays known to cause damage to neural fibre tracts in the white matter of the brain. This damage, on the other hand, can be detected and assessed by means of diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (DW-MRI). This is what makes DW-MRI a unique tool of medical imaging, with a potential to revolutionize the field of neurological diagnosis. Unfortunately, collecting DW-MRI data is known to be a relatively lengthy process, which hinders the application of DW-MRI to many groups of neurological patients, including children and patients with dementia. As a result, the full diagnostic potential of DW-MRI still remains unrealized. To resolve this problem, in this project, we will develop methods for fast and accurate acquisition of DW-MRI data. Our methods will reduce the duration of DW-MRI scans, thereby improving their practical value. Subsequently, based on the acquired data, we will compute diagnostic biomarkers for early detection and classification of various neurological conditions, such as schizophrenia and post traumatic syndrome. If available, our technology will: 1) expand the applicability of DW-MRI diagnosis to wider groups of neurological patients, 2) provide practitioners with advanced methods for early detection of neurological disorders, and 3) improve the accessibility of MRI equipment to allow more Canadian patients to reap the advantages of this extraordinary tool of medical imaging.