Automatic Delineation of Focal Cortical Dysplasia Lesions on MRI

Rationale: MRI has allowed the recognition of focal cortical dysplasia (FCD) in an increasing number of patients. The precise delineation of FCD is important since freedom from seizures after surgery is closely related to the extent of resection of the pathological tissue. FCD lesions are difficult to delineate on MRI due to their ill-defined boundaries and the complexity of the cortex. We previously developed an automatic classifier that successfully detected FCD in the majority of cases (Antel et al. Neuroimage 2003; 19: 1748-59). However, the classifier sampled on average only 20% of the lesion extent. Our purpose was to design and evaluate an automatic method for accurate delineation of FCD on MRI.