Welcome. Here you will find links to the IDEAS data set, comprising MRI scans from 442 individuals with epilepsy, along with 100 healthy controls.
Detailed demographic and metadata information is also provided.
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Update February 2026 : release of the IDEAS II data now includes diffusion MRI.
Title : Open diffusion MRI and connectivity data for epilepsy and surgery: The IDEAS II release
Abstract : Epileptic seizures are generated in cerebral networks that propagate ictal and interictal activity. The structure of cerebral networks underpinning epileptic activity can be inferred from diffusion-weighted MRI (DWI). However, publicly available DWI data in individuals with epilepsy are scarce, and processing is technically challenging due to scan-specific artifacts, limiting research progress. Here, we release raw DWI data from 216 individuals with epilepsy and 98 healthy controls. Subject identifiers align with our previous data release (IDEAS), which includes T1-weighted and FLAIR MRI, surgical details, and long-term seizure outcomes after surgery. Preprocessing reduced distortions and artifacts, while fully processed data include diffusion metric maps in native and template space. We also provide parcellated structural connectomes using multiple atlases and connectivity measures. To illustrate the utility of this IDEAS II data, we replicated ENIGMA consortium findings, observing widespread reductions of fractional anisotropy, particularly ipsilateral to the area of seizure onset. We further demonstrate localised abnormality, and network connectivity using streamline tractography in a patient who subsequently underwent temporal lobe resection. This open dataset offers a comprehensive resource to advance research on structural connectivity and surgical outcomes in epilepsy.
Link to preprint: https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.09852 (Accepted publication in press at Epilepsia).
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The key difference in the IDEAS II data, compared to IDEAS I is the addition of diffusion MRI. Below, is a unified list of all data available across the two IDEAS data releases.
Raw T1w, FLAIR and diffusion MRI scans organised in BIDS format. Nifti and json descriptors included: https://figshare.com/s/4ec743d20cf1c41ed01d
Resection masks in native space of the T1w scan. https://figshare.com/s/476b37fd883c14f50324
Raw T1w and FLAIR data, additional to minimally processed diffusion MRI data. https://figshare.com/s/e8c80939dafc5eead4b1
Raw T1w and FLAIR data, additional to fully processed diffusion MRI data. Fully processed data includes tensor maps in native space, MNI-152 space, and connectomes. https://figshare.com/s/2dbae1fbfe72f7e66e1a
Freesurfer surface and volumetric reconstructions derived from the shared T1w scan https://figshare.com/s/b13b8bb41390d3f7a088
Freesurfer thickness, volume, and surface areas for the Desikan-Kiliany parcellation. https://figshare.com/s/010142dd51e37ba4e4e2
Clinical and demographic metadata https://figshare.com/s/bab70268afeb1071202b
Table indicating the percentage of each brain region in the Desikan-Kiliany atlas subsequently resected by surgery. https://figshare.com/s/097ba0e254e36f0eee52
Freesurfer thickness, volume, and surface areas for the Desikan-Kiliany parcellation, z-scored against normative controls post-combat. https://figshare.com/s/8c086fc295a75f85e628
If you use T1w or FLAIR scans, please cite the following publication:
If you use the diffusion MRI scans, please cite the following publication:
If you use the resection masks please cite the following publication:
