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Peer-reviewedCC BY-NC-NDHippocampus

Harmonized Protocol for Segmentation of the Hippocampal Tail on High-Resolution In Vivo MRI From the Hippocampal Subfields Group (HSG).

  • Robin de Flores1
  • Kelsey L Canada2
  • Thackery Brown3
  • Nicole J Gervais4
  • Anne Maass5
  • Gustaf Rådman6
  • Jonathan Shine5
  • Hannah L Tucker7
  • Eóin N Molloy5
  • Jenna N Adams8
  • Michelle Baca Reinke9
  • Arnold Bakker10
18 more authors
  • David Berron5
  • Marshall A Dalton11
  • Kristen M Kennedy12
  • Renaud LaJoie13
  • Susanne G Mueller14
  • Noa Ofen12
  • Rosanna K Olsen15
  • Naftali Raz16
  • Tracy Riggins17
  • Karen M Rodrigue12
  • Craig Stark18
  • Lei Wang19
  • Laura E M Wisse20
  • Paul A Yushkevich21
  • Valerie A Carr9
  • Ana M Daugherty22
  • Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative
  • Hippocampal Subfields Group
22 affiliations
  1. 1Normandie Univ, UNICAEN, INSERM, UA20 Neuropresage, Caen, France.
  2. 2University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, Massachusetts, USA.
  3. 3School of Psychology, Center for Research and Education in Navigation (CRaNE), Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
  4. 4University of Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands.
  5. 5German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), Magdeburg, Germany.
  6. 6Lund University, Lund, Sweden.
  7. 7Department of Clinical Sciences, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.
  8. 8Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, University of California Irvine, Irvine, California, USA.
  9. 9San Jose State University, San Jose, California, USA.
  10. 10Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
  11. 11University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.
  12. 12Center for Vital Longevity, School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, The University of Texas at Dallas, Dallas, Texas, USA.
  13. 13Memory and Aging Center, UCSF Weill Institute for Neurosciences, Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA.
  14. 14Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA.
  15. 15Baycrest Academy for Research and Education, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.
  16. 16Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Stony Brook University, Berlin, Germany.
  17. 17University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, USA.
  18. 18University of California Irvine, Irvine, California, USA.
  19. 19Rotman Research Institute, Baycrest Academy for Research and Education, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.
  20. 20Department of Clinical Sciences Lund, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.
  21. 21Department of Radiology, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
  22. 22Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan, USA.
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Abstract

The hippocampus is a heterogeneous structure with cytoarchitectonically distinct subfields that exhibit heterogeneous lifespan trajectories and are differentially susceptible to diseases. Advances in high-resolution imaging have accelerated research on these structures, yet variability in segmentation protocols limits cross-study comparability. The Hippocampal Subfields Group (HSG) is an international consortium addressing this challenge by developing a reliable, accessible, and freely available segmentation protocol for high-resolution T2-weighted 3T MRI scans (http://www.hippocampalsubfields.com). Here, we present the harmonized protocol for the posterior portion of the hippocampus (the "tail"), complementing the previously established "body" protocol, and with an anterior "head" protocol under development. The tail protocol provides standardized definitions of the external boundaries for the posterior-most extent of the hippocampus, facilitating consistent segmentation from surrounding tissues. The research community was extensively involved through an online survey that incorporated comprehensive protocol details, feasibility assessments, tutorial videos, and illustrative segmentations. Through this collaborative process, consensus emerged to exclude subfield labeling in the hippocampal tail due to limited visibility of internal landmarks and substantial anatomical variability in this region. All proposed boundary guidelines were deemed clear and agreed upon via a Delphi procedure. The harmonized tail protocol has high intra- (Averaged ICC(2, 1) > 0.98; Averaged Dice Similarity Coefficient = 0.92) and inter-rater reliability (Averaged ICC(2, k) > 0.98; Averaged Dice Similarity Coefficient = 0.86) and offers a practical framework for replicable segmentation. By establishing standardized guidelines, this protocol enhances comparability of findings across developmental, aging, and clinical research and is compatible with ongoing technological advances.

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Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{flores2026harmonized,
  title = {{Harmonized Protocol for Segmentation of the Hippocampal Tail on High-Resolution In Vivo MRI From the Hippocampal Subfields Group (HSG).}},
  author = {Robin de Flores and Kelsey L Canada and Thackery Brown and Nicole J Gervais and Anne Maass and Gustaf Rådman and Jonathan Shine and Hannah L Tucker and Eóin N Molloy and Jenna N Adams and Michelle Baca Reinke and Arnold Bakker and David Berron and Marshall A Dalton and Kristen M Kennedy and Renaud LaJoie and Susanne G Mueller and Noa Ofen and Rosanna K Olsen and Naftali Raz and Tracy Riggins and Karen M Rodrigue and Craig Stark and Lei Wang and Laura E M Wisse and Paul A Yushkevich and Valerie A Carr and Ana M Daugherty and Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative and Hippocampal Subfields Group},
  journal = {Hippocampus},
  year = {2026},
  month = oct,
  doi = {10.1002/hipo.70143},
  url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42920090},
  note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - Harmonized Protocol for Segmentation of the Hippocampal Tail on High-Resolution In Vivo MRI From the Hippocampal Subfields Group (HSG).
AU  - Robin de Flores
AU  - Kelsey L Canada
AU  - Thackery Brown
AU  - Nicole J Gervais
AU  - Anne Maass
AU  - Gustaf Rådman
AU  - Jonathan Shine
AU  - Hannah L Tucker
AU  - Eóin N Molloy
AU  - Jenna N Adams
AU  - Michelle Baca Reinke
AU  - Arnold Bakker
AU  - David Berron
AU  - Marshall A Dalton
AU  - Kristen M Kennedy
AU  - Renaud LaJoie
AU  - Susanne G Mueller
AU  - Noa Ofen
AU  - Rosanna K Olsen
AU  - Naftali Raz
AU  - Tracy Riggins
AU  - Karen M Rodrigue
AU  - Craig Stark
AU  - Lei Wang
AU  - Laura E M Wisse
AU  - Paul A Yushkevich
AU  - Valerie A Carr
AU  - Ana M Daugherty
AU  - Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative
AU  - Hippocampal Subfields Group
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/30
JO  - Hippocampus
DO  - 10.1002/hipo.70143
UR  - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42920090
AB  - The hippocampus is a heterogeneous structure with cytoarchitectonically distinct subfields that exhibit heterogeneous lifespan trajectories and are differentially susceptible to diseases. Advances in high-resolution imaging have accelerated research on these structures, yet variability in segmentation protocols limits cross-study comparability. The Hippocampal Subfields Group (HSG) is an international consortium addressing this challenge by developing a reliable, accessible, and freely available segmentation protocol for high-resolution T2-weighted 3T MRI scans (http://www.hippocampalsubfields.com). Here, we present the harmonized protocol for the posterior portion of the hippocampus (the "tail"), complementing the previously established "body" protocol, and with an anterior "head" protocol under development. The tail protocol provides standardized definitions of the external boundaries for the posterior-most extent of the hippocampus, facilitating consistent segmentation from surrounding tissues. The research community was extensively involved through an online survey that incorporated comprehensive protocol details, feasibility assessments, tutorial videos, and illustrative segmentations. Through this collaborative process, consensus emerged to exclude subfield labeling in the hippocampal tail due to limited visibility of internal landmarks and substantial anatomical variability in this region. All proposed boundary guidelines were deemed clear and agreed upon via a Delphi procedure. The harmonized tail protocol has high intra- (Averaged ICC(2, 1) > 0.98; Averaged Dice Similarity Coefficient = 0.92) and inter-rater reliability (Averaged ICC(2, k) > 0.98; Averaged Dice Similarity Coefficient = 0.86) and offers a practical framework for replicable segmentation. By establishing standardized guidelines, this protocol enhances comparability of findings across developmental, aging, and clinical research and is compatible with ongoing technological advances.
SN  - 1050-9631
SN  - 1098-1063
ER  -