A scheme for automatically building three-dimensional morphometric anatomical atlases: application to a skull atlas.

We present a general scheme for automatically building a morphometric anatomical atlas. We detail each stage of the method, including the non-rigid registration algorithm, three-dimensional line averaging and statistical processes. We apply the method to obtain a quantitative atlas of skull crest lines. Finally, we use the resulting atlas to study a craniofacial disease; we show how we can obtain qualitative and quantitative results by contrasting a skull affected by a mandible deformation with the atlas.