Visual MRI: Merging Information Visualization and non-parametric clustering techniques for MRI data set analysis

Objective This paper presents VisualMRI, an innovative tool for the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) analysis of tumoral tissues. The main goal of the analysis is to separate each magnetic resonance image in meaningful clusters, highlighting zones which are more probably related with the cancer evolution. Such non-invasive analysis serves to address novel cancer treatments, resulting in a less destabilizing and more effective type of therapy than the chemotherapy-based ones. The advancements brought by VisualMRI are two: first, it is an integration of effective informationvisualization (IV) techniques into a clustering framework, which separates each MRI image in a set of informative clusters; the second improvement relies in the clustering framework itself, which is derived from a recently re-discovered non-parametric grouping strategy, i.e., the mean shift. Methodology The proposed methodology merges visualization methods and data mining techniques, providing a computational framework that allows the physician to move effectively from the MRI image to the images displaying the derived parameter space. An unsupervised non-parametricclustering algorithm, derived from the mean shift paradigm, and called MRI-mean shift, is the novel data mining technique proposed here. The main underlying idea of such approach is that the parameter space is regarded as an empirical probability density function to estimate: the possible separate modes and their attraction basins represent separated clusters. The mean shift algorithm needs sensibility threshold values to be set, which could lead to highly different segmentation results. Usually, these values are set by hands. Here, with the MRI-mean shift algorithm, we propose a strategy based on a structured optimality criterion which faces effectively this issue, resulting in a completely unsupervised clustering framework. A linked brushingvisualizationtechnique is then used for representing clusters on the parameter space and on the MRI image, where physicians can observe further anatomical details. In order to allow the physician to easily use all the analysis and visualization tools, a visual interface has been designed and implemented, resulting in a computational framework susceptible of evaluation and testing by physicians. Results VisualMRI has been adopted by physicians in a real clinical research setting. To describe the main features of the system, some examples of usage on real cases are shown, following step by step all the actions scientists can do on an MRI image. To assess the contribution of VisualMRI given to the research setting, a validation of the clustering results in a medical sense has been carried out. Conclusions From a general point of view, the two main objectives reached in this paper are: (1) merginginformationvisualization and data mining approaches to support clinical research and (2) proposing an effective and fully automated clusteringtechnique. More particularly, a new application for MRIdataanalysis, named VisualMRI, is proposed, aiming at improving the support of medical researchers in the context of cancer therapy; moreover, a non-parametrictechnique for cluster analysis, named MRI-mean shift, has been drawn. The results show the effectiveness and the efficacy of the proposed application.