nipy.labs.utils.mask.compute_mask(mean_volume, reference_volume=None, m=0.2, M=0.9, cc=True, opening=2, exclude_zeros=False)

Compute a mask file from fMRI data in 3D or 4D ndarrays.

Compute and write the mask of an image based on the grey level This is based on an heuristic proposed by T.Nichols: find the least dense point of the histogram, between fractions m and M of the total image histogram.

In case of failure, it is usually advisable to increase m.

Parameters
mean_volume3D ndarray

mean EPI image, used to compute the threshold for the mask.

reference_volume: 3D ndarray, optional

reference volume used to compute the mask. If none is give, the mean volume is used.

mfloat, optional

lower fraction of the histogram to be discarded.

M: float, optional

upper fraction of the histogram to be discarded.

cc: boolean, optional

if cc is True, only the largest connect component is kept.

opening: int, optional

if opening is larger than 0, an morphological opening is performed, to keep only large structures. This step is useful to remove parts of the skull that might have been included.

exclude_zeros: boolean, optional

Consider zeros as missing values for the computation of the threshold. This option is useful if the images have been resliced with a large padding of zeros.

Returns