I came across this article on early detection.
Multiple sclerosis is a degenerative disease of the nervous system without a cure. The exact causes of multiple sclerosis are unknown. When the first symptoms appear, one of the tests that is usually carried out is an MRI to determine if the brain has damage typical of multiple sclerosis. In the early stages of multiple sclerosis it may be that no damage has been caused yet, or that the damage caused is under the resolution limit of the MRI. In such cases the brain of an ill person is said to be ?apparently normal' as it shows the same features than that of a healthy person.
Now researchers are developing software for clinical use to detect multiple sclerosis even before the typical brain damage of this neurodegenerative disease appears. The research team is calculating the fractal dimension of the brain images registered on magnetic resonance imaging. They are starting to implement this technique also in other neurodegenerative diseases, and could be a tool for the early diagnosis of these diseases.
The fractal dimension is the dimension of irregular digitalized curves, and now for the first time, this group of biologists, computing engineers, mathematicians, neurologists, neurosurgeons, psychologists and statisticians are using this calculation on 3D magnetic resonance imaging of brains.
The software will calculate the 3D fractal dimension of the brain. It's a tool for clinical use to try to see if a person with an apparently normal brain is suffering the early symptoms of multiple sclerosis.
With the currently carried out tests, the volume, size or circumvolutions of the brain are calculated, but it?s difficult to calculate its complexity, which is something that can be done with the fractal dimension. The scientists are using different computer algorithms for image processing and are applying the theory of fractal dimension both on nuclear magnetic resonance of healthy people and on persons with certain neurodegenerative diseases such as multiple sclerosis. ?When fractal dimension is applied to the brain, we are able to detect certain alterations in the brain structures that cannot be observed with any other method used so far. By using this new technique, we can detect alterations that the eye cannot see' says study author Professor Esteban Ruiz.
So far this study has been carried out in patients with multiple sclerosis, but the aim is to apply it to other neurodegenerative diseases. ?We are using this method to detect possible changes in the brain of children that can develop learning difficulties. An early diagnosis can minimize such problems by applying a suitable treatment', he says.
http://www.elements4health.com/scientists-develop-software-to-detect-early-multiple-sclerosis.html
Multiple sclerosis is a degenerative disease of the nervous system without a cure. The exact causes of multiple sclerosis are unknown. When the first symptoms appear, one of the tests that is usually carried out is an MRI to determine if the brain has damage typical of multiple sclerosis. In the early stages of multiple sclerosis it may be that no damage has been caused yet, or that the damage caused is under the resolution limit of the MRI. In such cases the brain of an ill person is said to be ?apparently normal' as it shows the same features than that of a healthy person.
Now researchers are developing software for clinical use to detect multiple sclerosis even before the typical brain damage of this neurodegenerative disease appears. The research team is calculating the fractal dimension of the brain images registered on magnetic resonance imaging. They are starting to implement this technique also in other neurodegenerative diseases, and could be a tool for the early diagnosis of these diseases.
The fractal dimension is the dimension of irregular digitalized curves, and now for the first time, this group of biologists, computing engineers, mathematicians, neurologists, neurosurgeons, psychologists and statisticians are using this calculation on 3D magnetic resonance imaging of brains.
The software will calculate the 3D fractal dimension of the brain. It's a tool for clinical use to try to see if a person with an apparently normal brain is suffering the early symptoms of multiple sclerosis.
With the currently carried out tests, the volume, size or circumvolutions of the brain are calculated, but it?s difficult to calculate its complexity, which is something that can be done with the fractal dimension. The scientists are using different computer algorithms for image processing and are applying the theory of fractal dimension both on nuclear magnetic resonance of healthy people and on persons with certain neurodegenerative diseases such as multiple sclerosis. ?When fractal dimension is applied to the brain, we are able to detect certain alterations in the brain structures that cannot be observed with any other method used so far. By using this new technique, we can detect alterations that the eye cannot see' says study author Professor Esteban Ruiz.
So far this study has been carried out in patients with multiple sclerosis, but the aim is to apply it to other neurodegenerative diseases. ?We are using this method to detect possible changes in the brain of children that can develop learning difficulties. An early diagnosis can minimize such problems by applying a suitable treatment', he says.
http://www.elements4health.com/scientists-develop-software-to-detect-early-multiple-sclerosis.html