Analysis of longitudinal shape variability via subject specific growth modeling

Statistical analysis of longitudinal imaging data is crucial for understanding normal anatomical development as well as disease progression. This fundamental task is challenging due to the difficulty in modeling longitudinal changes, such as growth, and comparing changes across different populations. We propose a new approach for analyzing shape variability over time, and for quantifying spatiotemporal population differences. Our approach estimates 4D anatomical growth models for a reference population (an average model) and for individuals in different groups. We define a reference 4D space for our analysis as the average population model and measure shape variability through diffeomorphisms that map the reference to the individuals. Conducting our analysis on this 4D space enables straightforward statistical analysis of deformations as they are parameterized by momenta vectors that are located at homologous locations in space and time. We evaluate our method on a synthetic shape database and clinical data from a study that seeks to quantify brain growth differences in infants at risk for autism.