This invention discloses a submillimeter-level
diffusion magnetic resonance imaging (DTI) method for extracting the radial index of cortical layered cognitive structures, relating to the field of medical
image processing technology. This invention aims to address the problems of existing technologies failing to accurately quantify the directionality of cortical microstructures and neglecting the heterogeneity of cortical layering. The method includes: acquiring DTI data and performing high-fidelity preprocessing such as MP-PCA denoising, Gibbs artifact removal, and
Gaussian process
distortion correction; estimating the
diffusion tensor and extracting the principal
feature vector based on the preprocessed data; reconstructing the cortical
white matter and pia mater surface using T1 images and extracting the normal vector; calculating the absolute value of the dot product of the
diffusion principal
feature vector and the surface normal vector to construct a radial index map; and segmenting the cortex into multiple intermediate
layers based on the principle of equal volume and extracting layering parameters. Through refined high-resolution
data processing and
geometric modeling, this invention can accurately quantify the radial alignment integrity of cortical nerve fibers, providing
highly sensitive imaging markers for cognitive disorders such as
schizophrenia.