A computer-assisted image-processing system for the analysis of autoradiographs of cerebral metabolic activity.

A computerized image-processing system has been developed for quantitative analyses of the autoradiographs obtained with the [14C]deoxyglucose method. By means of this system, these cerebral metabolic images can be digitized and the resultant data can be manipulated for image construction, enhancement, enlargement, and microdensitometric analysis. It is also possible to generate quantitative color-coded metabolic maps that display the distribution of the actual rates of local glucose utilization throughout the entire central nervous system with a resolution conservatively estimated to be equivalent to that of a full-width-half-maximum of approximately 100 micron.