MIAKAT™ is a fully quantitative suite of analysis tools for PET
neuroimaging data bringing together state of the art tools in a single
user friendly software environment making it straightforward for novice or
advanced imaging scientists to efficiently and accurately analyse their
data. The software includes functionality for motion correction of dynamic
image sequences, neuoranatomical parcellation of regions of interest
(ROIs), blood/plasma input function modelling and tracer kinetic modelling
for regional or parametric image analyses.
MIAKAT™ is implemented in MATLAB™, and has a central graphical user
interface that facilitates “point and click” operation, so that users can
concentrate on their data without needing to learn how to use MATLAB™ or
other tools. Users can run preconfigured standard analysis workflows, or
bespoke pipelines and processes to suit their needs. The software is
distributed as MATLAB™ m-code, enabling users to understand and interact
with the software at any level. MIAKAT™ is free for non-commercial use
(see the Download page for licence details).
The workflow framework that is central to the MIAKAT™ implementation
allows the user to configure an analysis pipeline for a given research
study, and then simply replicate that analysis for each dataset, with
minimal human interaction except for the final quality control of the
analysis process. MIAKAT™ is designed to be:
Accessible – easy to use
with a graphical user interface
Powerful – advanced
functionality for end-to-end analysis of dynamic PET imaging data
Flexible – myriad
options within standard workflows, plus facility for user-extensibility
Robust – reproducible
analysis workflow with audit trail ensures consistency and quality
The standard brain pipeline configurations implemented in MIAKAT™ take the
primary experimental data (dynamic PET and structural MR images, along
with ancillary data such as arterial blood measurements) and perform a
sequence of processes which ultimately produce results in the form of
regional (or voxel-wise) parameters extracted via a comprehensive set of
modelling techniques. MIAKAT™ combines in-house code with wrappers for FSL
and SPM commands in order to provide start of the art functionality within
a coherent framework. MIAKAT™ contains functionality for:
- Brain Extraction
- Brain Tissue Segmentation
- Motion Correction
- Regional ROI Definition via Neuroanatomical Atlas
- Blood/Plasma Function Modelling
- ROI Tracer Kinetic Modelling
- Parametric Imaging
For
further details please see the documentation, and example screenshots
below.