Comparative Utility of Manual versus Automated Segmentation of Hippocampus and Entorhinal Cortex Volumes in a Memory Clinic Sample

Abstract

Structural neuroimaging is a useful non-invasive biomarker commonly employed to evaluate the integrity of mesial temporal lobe structures that are typically compromised in Alzheimer's disease. Advances in quantitative neuroimaging have permitted the development of automated segmentation protocols (e.g., FreeSurfer) with significantly increased efficiency compared to earlier manual techniques. While these protocols have been found to be suitable for large-scale, multi-site research studies, we were interested in assessing the practical utility and reliability of automated FreeSurfer protocols compared to manual volumetry on routinely acquired clinical scans. Independent validation studies wit..