Statistical shape analyses of the brainstem in chiari patients

Abstract

AIM: To ascertain whether the brain stem's shape differs in patients with syrinx and without syrinx in cases with Chiari malformation Type I (CM-1), relative to healthy controls.MATERIAL and METHODS: Data on marked brainstem regions were obtained from 2D digital image files. Generalized Procrustes analysis was used to evaluate shape differences among patients with syrinx, patients without syrinx, and healthy controls. Shape deformations among groups were examined by Thin Plate Spline (TPS) analysis.RESULTS: According to the brain stem shape, there were differences between patients with syrinx and controls, and between patients without syrinx and controls. High-level deformations were also observed among the groups.CONCLUSION: In the present study, the presence of shape deformations in Chiari patients' brainstem was demonstrated. This is the first study using a landmark-based geometrical morphometric method to demonstrate the shape difference in Chiari patients' brainstem.