Segmented sulci on cortical surface    Partially inflated cortical surface          Spherical map

The human brain cortex has the geometry of a thick surface folded into a three-dimensional volume. Members of the center have developed an automated method to reconstruct the cortex from magnetic resonance images. This method, called Cortical Reconstruction Using Implicit Surface Evolution (CRUISE), uses fuzzy segmentation and geometric deformable models to .nd the cortex and watershed segmentation methods to automatically segment regions associated with cortical sulci (inward folds of the cortex). When the brain hemispheres are joined together, they have the topology of a sphere, and can be mathematically mapped to a sphere in order to establish a coordinate system on the cortical surface. The images above show segmented sulci appearing on the original cortical surface (left), a partially in.ated surface (center), and a spherical map (right). Further developments are being pursued in the joint registration of thousands of brains and the characterization of geometric changes that take place during aging.