Probabilistic atlas

Probabilistic atlases, also known as probability maps, are anatomical or anatomopathological atlases based on statistically-weighted composites of many specimens. Traditional anatomy atlases were based on one or a few specimens sometimes with common variations indicated or shown. Probabilistic atlases are made through techniques that take data from many patients and combine it. Such atlases can be presented in ways as to show variation over populations and/or time. Because such atlases are produced from digital imaging they can be produced in such a way as to be queried for precise probability distributions of not only anatomy but useful functional variables such as blood flow velocity .  They have proved particularly useful for automating segmentation of both anatomy and pathology .