Image processing techniques used in satellite imaging can improve change detection on longitudinal MRI scans

Motivation: Change mapping techniques used in satellite imaging could be used for visualizing changes in longitudinal MRI. Goal(s): To generate change maps to highlight tumor margins in longitudinal MRI scans of patients with brain metastasis. Approach: We used the NYUMets public dataset. We adapted the VALE method used in satellite imaging to generate change saliency maps for patients with small brain metastasis by performing spatial and intensity registration over longitudinal MRI data. Results: The change mapping technique made small tumors visually obvious, enhanced visualization of change in tumors and edema over time, and showed tumor boundaries that were not visible on T1-post contrast images. Impact: This work demonstrates that image processing techniques used in satellite imaging could be effectively used for tracking changes in longitudinal MRI. The proposed approach can lead to better treatment planning and patient progress monitoring due to its sensitivity to changes.