Most difficult is the labeling by other people that models are empty-headed bodies. Boyd Holbrook
Prerequisite
Data with headshape points (3 fiducials, and ~100 head points, optionally 4 HPI coils) should have been digitized before MEG data acquisition.
Individual subject MRI should have been acquired.
Goal of this tutorial
Merge (i.e. realign) the sensor locations of the MEG recordings with the MRI of the individual subject, create a head model and a grid (aka leadfield matrix) for source analysis.
Step-by-step guide
1. Load the MRI and "reslice" it
In this step, we simply put the right side of the MRI up. Skipping this step will result in mixed up slices and/or upside down image.
mrif = '/path/and/filename/to/T1_mri.mgz'; % the file format could be one of many supported by fieldtrip. Native DICOM format works but is a bit slow to load. % read in the mri mri=ft_read_mri(mrif); % flip image so it looks upright cfg = []; cfg.method = 'flip'; mri_aligned = ft_volumereslice(cfg,mri);
using freesurfer's orig file
Note that if you have used freesurfer previously to segment your MRI, you can load the original mri stored in your freesurfer subjects' directory under SubjectName/orig/001.mgz
2. Align the MRI with the fiducial points
This step is just a rough alignment of the MRI fiducial points. The next step will use head shape points to refine this alignment. If no head shape points have been digitized, it is important to point precisely to the fiducial points here.
% realign with fiducials cfg = []; cfg.method = 'interactive'; cfg.coordsys = 'neuromag'; mri_aligned = ft_volumerealign(cfg, mri_aligned);
3. Refine alignment with head shape points
% headshape should be stored along with the MEG data headshapef = '/path/to/MEGdata.fif'; cfg = []; cfg.method = 'headshape'; headshape = ft_read_headshape(headshapef); headshape = ft_convert_units(headshape, 'mm'); cfg.headshape.headshape = headshape; cfg.coordsys = 'neuromag'; cfg.headshape.interactive = 'no'; mri_aligned = ft_volumerealign(cfg, mri_aligned);
This step can also be done interactively.
4. Create a head model (3D surfaces for brain, skull and scalp)
Load and align a template grid to the headmodel
Plot the results and check
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