Our project, the Head Circumference Tool, is designed to support neuroscience researchers who are researching autism. For a younger sibling, an atypical head circumference compared to older siblings has been identified as an early predictor for autism. This is not fully understood and is an area of active research, which we hope to support via this tool.
Head circumference can be measured manually with a tape. However, this can be difficult to do, especially when the subject is a baby, and can lead to inaccurate measurements. The goal of our tool is to calculate these measurements using MRIs taken by the researchers for maximum accuracy.
Although a prior Head Circumference Tool exists, our new version will further support this goal by leveraging modern Python libraries to achieve fast performance and precise accuracy. On our first meeting and in the project description, our client mentioned the need for an intuitive user interface for biomedical researchers without developer experience, a goal which we have achieved. On the other hand, a powerful command-line interface capable of batch processing several images at a time is also expected, which we are working on. Combined, these two interfaces will greatly enhance our users’ workflows.
Autism is rarely diagnosed before the age of 3. However, early diagnosis is important since early intervention can result in better lifelong outcomes. By supporting this research, we hope our tool can help people with autism and their families.