A method for fast automated assessment of the magnetic resonance parkinsonism index.

In patients with parkinsonian syndromes, and particularly during the early stages of the clinical disease, differentiating between idiopathic Parkinson's disease and progressive supranuclear palsy is challenging. Imaging plays an important role in early diagnosis, and the magnetic resonance parkinsonism index was shown to reliably differentiate between the two entities. Calculation of the index is a time-consuming process. We developed an algorithm allowing its automatic calculation based on 3D T1-weighted images, producing additional color-coded images for verification.