用解剖结构引导的Transformer模型,分析脑部影像变化预测阿尔茨海默病进展。
Parcel2Progression: An Anatomy-aware Longitudinal Framework for Alzheimer's Disease Diagnosis

- 用解剖图谱将3D脑影像转为具生物学意义的片段,再通过时序Transformer建模
- 在多个数据集上比单次扫描模型提升5%-7%准确率,且计算成本线性增长
- 可解释性强,能识别出与临床一致的脑萎缩模式,适合医生辅助诊断
阿尔茨海默病(AD)进展是长期过程,早期病理变化微弱。现有神经影像模型受限于计算能力,通常牺牲空间信息或仅处理有限次数的纵向扫描。本文提出Parcel2Progression(P2P),一种基于图谱引导的解剖分割编码器与时序Transformer结合的框架,用于处理高分辨率、变长的T1w结构性MRI(4D sMRI)序列。该方法将3D影像分割为解剖学意义丰富的片段,再由时序Transformer整合不规则、任意长度的随访数据及患者年龄。此设计实现两大优势:(1)片段级可解释性;(2)计算效率高,复杂度随扫描数线性增长,远优于传统二次方的4D ViT。P2P在ADNI、AIBL和MIRIAD数据集上均超越基线,在轻度认知障碍(MCI)向AD转化预测和AD vs. 健康对照(CN)分类任务中表现优异。利用纵向扫描使性能相较单次扫描模型分别提升最多5%和7%(平衡准确率)。通过片段重要性分析与注意力可视化,揭示了与临床一致的萎缩模式。此外,模型在合成异常检测中表现稳定,并展示了对额颞叶痴呆等其他神经退行性疾病具备泛化能力。
原文摘要 · Abstract (English)
Alzheimer's disease (AD) progression is a longitudinal process with subtle pathological cues in the early stages. Yet, computational constraints have limited most neuroimaging models to either compromise spatial information or limit the number of longitudinal scans. We aim to overcome this bottleneck and fully leverage high-resolution, variable-length T1w structural MRI (4D sMRI) scan sequences. We introduce Parcel2Progression (P2P), a Longitudinal Transformer Framework which tackles this challenge using an Atlas-guided Parcel Encoder that tokenizes 3D scans into a set of richer anatomically grounded representations. A Longitudinal Transformer then integrates irregular, arbitrary-length longitudinal visits with patient age. This synergy delivers two key advantages: (1) parcel-specific interpretability, and (2) computational tractability for long-term analysis, which scales linearly with the number of scans compared to a naive quadratic 4D ViT cost. P2P outperforms prior works and baselines in both MCI (Mild Cognitive Impairment) to AD conversion prediction and AD vs. CN (Cognitively Normal) classification tasks across ADNI, AIBL, and MIRIAD datasets. Leveraging longitudinal scans boosts performance over single-scan baselines by up to 5% and 7% in balanced accuracy for AD classification and MCI conversion prediction tasks, respectively. Interpretability analysis using parcel saliencies and attention rollouts reveals clinically consistent atrophy patterns in AD and MCI subjects. We also demonstrate the frameworks' reliability in anomaly detection using a synthetic dataset, and test the model's generalizability for other neurodegenerative diseases like Frontotemporal Dementia.
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