Study and application of the texture analysis technique to magnetic resonance images of children with autism spectrum disorder

• Grant number: 25/04956-9
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: June 01, 2025
• End date: May 31, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Biomedical Engineering
• Principal Investigator: Gabriela Castellano
• Grantee: Beatriz Violante Ptasznik
• Host Institution: Instituto de Física Gleb Wataghin (IFGW). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 13/07559-3 - BRAINN - The Brazilian Institute of Neuroscience and Neurotechnology, AP.CEPID

Abstract

The technique of obtaining images with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is currently one of the most widely used methods for conducting in vivo studies of the human body and its pathologies, in a non-invasive manner. MRI generates digital images, which can be analyzed with image processing methods, such as texture analysis - which allows an image to be described based on a few parameters. There are several approaches for extracting texture parameters from an image, and for medical images, one of the most widely used has been the statistical approach. Statistical texture parameters have shown statistically significant differences in MRI images of normal individuals and patients with anomalies in anatomical regions that appear normal under simple visual inspection of the image. The objective of this project is to study the texture analysis technique and apply it to brain images of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and neurotypical children. The aim is to introduce the student to the concepts of magnetic resonance imaging and its clinical applications, in addition to contributing to a better understanding of this condition. (AU)