FSL-scripts

Script-framework using FSL, Freesurfer and AFNI functionality for automatization and high-throughput processing of MRI data in clustered environments. This work was supported by the PostDoc Programme of the Medical Faculty (University of Heidelberg).

Features

• Fully automated cascades up to 2nd-level GLM stats for cross-sectional and longitudinal designs
• Functional analyses
  • FSL's Independent Component Analysis (Melodic-ICA)
  • FSL's Dual Regression
  • FSL's Network analysis (FSLNets v0.6.2)
  • Amplitute of Low Frequency Fluctuations (ALFF)
  • fractional Amplitute of Low Frequency Fluctuations (fALFF)
• Structural analyses
  • FSL's Tract-Based Spatial Statistics (TBSS)
  • FSL's Tract-Based Spatial Statistics (crossing fibres) (TBSSX)
  • FSL's Voxel-Based Morphometry (VBM)
  • FSL's AutoPtx (v0.1.1)
  • Freesurfer cross-sectional / longitudinal streams
  • Freesurfer's TRActs Constrained by UnderLying Anatomy (TRACULA)
  • Freesurfer's cortical thickness analysis
• Cluster engines are addressed via FSL's fsl_sub
• Processing of intermediate files in node's local /tmp to minimize network traffic
• Nautilus scripts for easy viewing

Requirements

• Linux (e.g., Ubuntu with Bash v4)
• FSL > 4.9.1
• Freesurfer > 5.1.0
• SunGridEngine > 6.1u6
• Octave > 3.0.5
• Gnome > 2.32
• ImageMagick > 6.7.5-3 (optional)

Installation

• Download and unpack zip-file.
• Export installation directory and mount on all nodes.
• run ./rsc/check_compatibility.sh to check whether files of existing
  FSL/Freesurfer installations differ from what is expected by this framework.
• run ./rsc/update.sh [32|64]

Usage

• Create study-directory.
• Copy and edit global settings in ./globalvars ,
  where processing settings, acquisition parameters, directory structure,
  naming of subjects/sessions and input files are defined.
• Arrange *.nii.gz files in input directory (./src).
• Define GLMs for each module using FSL's Glm (./grp/GLM).
  For Freesurfer stats see https://surfer.nmr.mgh.harvard.edu/fswiki/FsgdExamples and
  https://surfer.nmr.mgh.harvard.edu/fswiki/RepeatedMeasuresAnova
• Copy and edit config* files in ./subj (if preprocessing settings
  and/or acquisition parameters vary across subjects/sessions).
• Run ./run_script.sh [bg] to start processing.

Example directory structure:

my-study              study-directory
  |
  |-rsc               symlink to /FSL-scripts/rsc
  |-src               data directory containing unprocessed nii.gz files
  |  |-01             subject 01
  |  | |-a            session a
  |  | | |-*.nii.gz   input nifti files (t1,bold,dwi with bvals/bvecs,fieldmap magn/phase)
  |  | |-b            session b
  |  | ...
  |  |-02             subject 02
  |  | |-a            session a
  |  | |-b            session b
  |  .....
  |-subj              1st-level processing
  |  |-config_*       files with per-subject/session pre-proc. settings deviating from 'globalvars'
  |  |-01             subject 01
  |  | |-a            session a
  |  | | |-alff       output of alff processing
  |  | | |-bold       output of bold processing
  |  | | |-bpx        output of bedpostx processing
  |  | | |-fdt        output of dwi processing
  |  | | |-fm         output of fieldmap processing
  |  | | |-topup      output of dwi processing using topup
  |  | | |-vbm        output of vbm processing
  |  | | 
  |  | |-b            session b
  |  .....
  |  |-FS_subj        Freesurfer subjects' directory
  |    |-01a          subject 01, session a
  |    |-01b          subject 01, session b
  |    ...
  |    |-02a          subject 02, session a
  |    |-02b          subject 02, session b
  |    ...
  |-grp               2nd-level processing
  |  |-GLM            General linear models
  |  | |-alff
  |  | | |-glm01      alff GLM 01
  |  | | |-glm02      alff GLM 02
  |  | | | |-design.con
  |  | | | |-design.fts
  |  | | | |-design.mat
  |  | | | |-design.grp
  |  | | | |-design.fsf
  |  | | |
  |  | | ...
  |  | |-dualreg
  |  | |-fslnets
  |  | |-FS_stats
  |  | |-tbss
  |  | |-vbm
  |  |
  |  |-alff           output of 2nd-level processing of alff incl. GLM results
  |  |-dualreg        output of 2nd-level processing of dual-regression incl. GLM results
  |  |-fslnets        output of 2nd-level processing of FSLNets incl. GLM results
  |  |-FS_stats       output of 2nd-level processing of cortical thickness incl. GLM results
  |  |-melodic        output of ICA decomposition
  |  |-tbss           output of 2nd-level processing of tbss(x) incl. GLM results
  |  |-vbm            output of 2nd-level processing of vbm incl. GLM results
  |      
  |-globalvars        global configuration file
  |-run_scripts.sh    symlink to ./rsc/main.sh

Status

Alpha

Contact

Dr. Andi Heckel, M.Sc.
University of Heidelberg
Department of Neuroradiology
heckelandreas@googlemail.com

Links

FSL http://fsl.fmrib.ox.ac.uk/fsl/fslwiki/
Freesurfer http://surfer.nmr.mgh.harvard.edu/fswiki
TRACULA http://surfer.nmr.mgh.harvard.edu/fswiki/FsTutorial/Tracula
1000FunctionalConnectomes http://www.nitrc.org/projects/fcon_1000/
MRIConvert http://lcni.uoregon.edu/~jolinda/MRIConvert/
ImageMagick http://www.imagemagick.org/script/index.php
FSL-compatible-transformation-matrix http://www.mathworks.es/matlabcentral/fileexchange/30804-make-fsl-compatible-transformation-matrix