Visual Analysis of Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy Imaging Data for the Study of Human Brain Tumors

Abstract

Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy Imaging (MRSI) is an in-vivo method for measuring metabolite concentration in various tissues. Typically, individual metabolites are examined in detail. We provide an interactive visualization tool that allows for the simultaneous analysis of all metabolite concentrations. The multi-dimensional data visualization is based on star coordinates interaction in a projected view. We derive a segmentation of the accompanying magnetic resonance image (MRI) to investigate the metabolite distribution within tissues including partial volume effect handling. Coordinated views between spatial slicebased visualizations and multidimensional metabolite spaces allow for the selection of individual voxels, certain anatomical regions, or groups of voxels with similar concentrations for a comparative analysis in the linked views as well as in further linked statistical plots. We apply our method to the analysis of brain tumors and surrounding tissue.