@techreport{TR-IC-08-24,
  number = {IC-08-24},
  author = {Felipe P.G. Bergo and Alexandre X. Falcão and Clarissa L. Yasuda and
                  Guilherme C.S. Ruppert},
  title = {Fast, Accurate and Precise Mid-sagittal Plane Location in 3D MR Images of the
                  Brain},
  month = {September},
  year = {2008}, 
  institution = {Institute of Computing, University of Campinas},
  note = {In English, 15 pages.
    \par\selectlanguage{english}\textbf{Abstract}
      Extraction of the mid-sagittal plane (MSP) is a key step for brain image
      registration and asymmetry analysis. We present a fast MSP extraction method for 3D
      MR images, based on automatic segmentation of the brain and on heuristic
      maximization of the cerebro-spinal fluid within the MSP. The method is robust to
      severe anatomical asymmetries between the hemispheres, caused by surgical procedures
      and lesions. The method is also accurate with respect to MSP delineations done by a
      specialist. The method was evaluated on 64 MR images (36 pathological, 20 healthy, 8
      synthetic), and it found a precise and accurate approximation of the MSP in all of
      them with a mean time of 60.0 seconds per image, mean angular variation within a
      same image (precision) of 1.26 degrees and mean angular difference from specialist
      delineations (accuracy) of 1.64 degrees.
  }
}