Background: Lymphovascular invasion (LVI) and perineural invasion (PNI) are important histopathological variables that are directly related to the survival and recurrence of patients with colorectal cancer (CRC). Preoperative prediction of LVI and PNI status in CRC is helpful in selecting patients requiring appropriate adjuvant therapy and evaluating prognosis. This study aimed to investigate the value of combining single-source dual-energy computed tomography (ssDECT)-derived parameters with extracellular volume (ECV) fraction for preoperative evaluation of LVI and PNI in CRC.
Methods: This retrospective study included patients with CRC who underwent contrast-enhanced ssDECT. All diagnoses were confirmed through histopathology, and the patients were classified into positive and negative groups based on the presence of LVI/PNI. Clinical data were collected. In the arterial (AP), venous (VP) and delayed phases (DP), the ssDECT-derived parameters were measured by two radiologists. The measurement consistency was evaluated using intraclass correlation coefficients. Differences between the two groups were analyzed using the t-test, Mann-Whitney U test, or Chi-square test. Binary logistic regression was employed to construct models incorporating multiple parameters. The diagnostic performance of various parameters or models was assessed by analyzing receiver operating characteristic curves.
Results: In total, 118 patients with CRC were included in the study. Serum carcinoembryonic antigen levels, T and N stages, and histological grades differed between the two groups (all P<0.05). The ssDECT-derived parameters in the VP and DP of LVI/PNI-positive group were higher than those of -negative group (all P<0.05). The ECV fraction in the DP of LVI/PNI-positive group was higher than that of -negative group (P=0.001). Discriminating capability analysis demonstrated that the diagnostic efficacies of the DP parameters were superior to those of the VP parameters, and the normalized iodine concentration in the DP exhibited the best performance [area under the curve (AUC): 0.750; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.648-0.852]. The combination of ECV DP with clinical and ssDECT-derived parameters demonstrated the highest discriminative capability (AUC: 0.857; 95% CI: 0.786-0.928).
Conclusions: ssDECT-derived parameters and ECV fraction may serve as non-invasive tools for predicting the LVI/PNI status in CRC.
{"title":"Combination of single-source dual-energy computed tomography (CT) parameters and extracellular volume fraction for predicting lymphovascular and perineural invasion in colorectal cancer.","authors":"Yuting Zhang, Yurong Wen, Shenglin Li, Liangna Deng, Tao Han, Mengyuan Jing, Jianhong Zhao, Junlin Zhou","doi":"10.21037/qims-24-76","DOIUrl":"10.21037/qims-24-76","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Lymphovascular invasion (LVI) and perineural invasion (PNI) are important histopathological variables that are directly related to the survival and recurrence of patients with colorectal cancer (CRC). Preoperative prediction of LVI and PNI status in CRC is helpful in selecting patients requiring appropriate adjuvant therapy and evaluating prognosis. This study aimed to investigate the value of combining single-source dual-energy computed tomography (ssDECT)-derived parameters with extracellular volume (ECV) fraction for preoperative evaluation of LVI and PNI in CRC.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This retrospective study included patients with CRC who underwent contrast-enhanced ssDECT. All diagnoses were confirmed through histopathology, and the patients were classified into positive and negative groups based on the presence of LVI/PNI. Clinical data were collected. In the arterial (AP), venous (VP) and delayed phases (DP), the ssDECT-derived parameters were measured by two radiologists. The measurement consistency was evaluated using intraclass correlation coefficients. Differences between the two groups were analyzed using the <i>t</i>-test, Mann-Whitney <i>U</i> test, or Chi-square test. Binary logistic regression was employed to construct models incorporating multiple parameters. The diagnostic performance of various parameters or models was assessed by analyzing receiver operating characteristic curves.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>In total, 118 patients with CRC were included in the study. Serum carcinoembryonic antigen levels, T and N stages, and histological grades differed between the two groups (all P<0.05). The ssDECT-derived parameters in the VP and DP of LVI/PNI-positive group were higher than those of -negative group (all P<0.05). The ECV fraction in the DP of LVI/PNI-positive group was higher than that of -negative group (P=0.001). Discriminating capability analysis demonstrated that the diagnostic efficacies of the DP parameters were superior to those of the VP parameters, and the normalized iodine concentration in the DP exhibited the best performance [area under the curve (AUC): 0.750; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.648-0.852]. The combination of ECV DP with clinical and ssDECT-derived parameters demonstrated the highest discriminative capability (AUC: 0.857; 95% CI: 0.786-0.928).</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>ssDECT-derived parameters and ECV fraction may serve as non-invasive tools for predicting the LVI/PNI status in CRC.</p>","PeriodicalId":54267,"journal":{"name":"Quantitative Imaging in Medicine and Surgery","volume":"14 10","pages":"7524-7539"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2024-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11485373/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142480706","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-10-01Epub Date: 2024-09-13DOI: 10.21037/qims-24-743
Feifei Zhang, Xiaoyu Yang, Xiaoliang Shao, Jianfeng Wang, Yuetao Wang
{"title":"Focal myocardial <sup>18</sup>F-fluorodeoxyglucose (<sup>18</sup>F-FDG) uptake occasionally revealed by whole-body positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) imaging in a patient suspected to have a lung tumor indicated myocardial ischemia caused by severe coronary artery disease.","authors":"Feifei Zhang, Xiaoyu Yang, Xiaoliang Shao, Jianfeng Wang, Yuetao Wang","doi":"10.21037/qims-24-743","DOIUrl":"10.21037/qims-24-743","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":54267,"journal":{"name":"Quantitative Imaging in Medicine and Surgery","volume":"14 10","pages":"7728-7735"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2024-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11485336/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142480617","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-10-01Epub Date: 2024-09-26DOI: 10.21037/qims-24-1130
Haidara Almansour, Migdat Mustafi, Mario Lescan, Ulrich Grosse, Mateja Andic, Jörg Schmehl, Christoph Artzner, Gerd Grözinger, Sven S Walter
Background: Time-resolved angiography with interleaved stochastic trajectories (TWIST) magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) may obscure smaller vessels and is highly susceptibility to motion artifacts, potentially reducing endoleak detection accuracy after endovascular aortic repair (EVAR). The novel golden-angle radial sparse parallel (GRASP) sequence enhances spatial and temporal resolution with continuous, motion-robust datasets, showing promise for accurate endoleak detection post-EVAR. This study aimed to compare the diagnostic effectiveness of contrast-enhanced compressed-sensing radial GRASP-volume interpolated breath-hold examination (VIBE) sequence with standard contrast-enhanced dynamic TWIST-VIBE sequence in patients with inconclusive computed tomography angiography (CTA) findings regarding endoleak after EVAR.
Methods: This single-center prospective study consecutively enrolled adults with inconclusive findings regarding the presence or type of endoleak in multiphasic CTA following EVAR for abdominal aortic aneurysms. Participants underwent contrast-enhanced MRA, acquiring dynamic TWIST-VIBE and GRASP-VIBE sequences. Two independent radiologists assessed the datasets for image quality, diagnostic confidence, and the presence and type of endoleak. Additionally, quantitative assessments with signal-to-noise ratios (SNR) and contrast-to-noise ratios (CNR) were performed. Statistical analyses included interrater and intermethod agreement, and diagnostic performance testing.
Results: Twenty participants (mean age, 72±9 years; 13 males) were included. GRASP-VIBE demonstrated superior image quality over TWIST-VIBE sequence with predominantly absent motion artifacts and increased diagnostic confidence (all P<0.001). Diagnostic performance significantly improved for detecting type II endoleaks in GRASP-VIBE compared to TWIST-VIBE scans [area under the curve (AUC): 0.96 vs. 0.73; P=0.04]. Diagnostic accuracy improved with GRASP-VIBE for overall (AUC: 0.94 vs. 0.79) and endoleak type I detection (AUC: 1.0 vs. 0.90), however, not significantly (P≥0.05). TWIST-VIBE sequences demonstrated significantly higher SNR for measurements in the clotted aneurysm sac (P=0.01). No significant differences were observed in CNR for the aorta and any aneurysm sacs across the compared imaging sequences.
Conclusions: Compressed-sensing dynamic GRASP-VIBE sequence, with its superior image quality, diagnostic confidence, and performance, may be preferred over standard TWIST-VIBE sequence in inconclusive endoleak cases.
{"title":"Golden-angle radial sparse parallel (GRASP) magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) for endoleak evaluation after endovascular repair of the aorta: a prospective comparison to conventional time-resolved MRA.","authors":"Haidara Almansour, Migdat Mustafi, Mario Lescan, Ulrich Grosse, Mateja Andic, Jörg Schmehl, Christoph Artzner, Gerd Grözinger, Sven S Walter","doi":"10.21037/qims-24-1130","DOIUrl":"10.21037/qims-24-1130","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Time-resolved angiography with interleaved stochastic trajectories (TWIST) magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) may obscure smaller vessels and is highly susceptibility to motion artifacts, potentially reducing endoleak detection accuracy after endovascular aortic repair (EVAR). The novel golden-angle radial sparse parallel (GRASP) sequence enhances spatial and temporal resolution with continuous, motion-robust datasets, showing promise for accurate endoleak detection post-EVAR. This study aimed to compare the diagnostic effectiveness of contrast-enhanced compressed-sensing radial GRASP-volume interpolated breath-hold examination (VIBE) sequence with standard contrast-enhanced dynamic TWIST-VIBE sequence in patients with inconclusive computed tomography angiography (CTA) findings regarding endoleak after EVAR.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This single-center prospective study consecutively enrolled adults with inconclusive findings regarding the presence or type of endoleak in multiphasic CTA following EVAR for abdominal aortic aneurysms. Participants underwent contrast-enhanced MRA, acquiring dynamic TWIST-VIBE and GRASP-VIBE sequences. Two independent radiologists assessed the datasets for image quality, diagnostic confidence, and the presence and type of endoleak. Additionally, quantitative assessments with signal-to-noise ratios (SNR) and contrast-to-noise ratios (CNR) were performed. Statistical analyses included interrater and intermethod agreement, and diagnostic performance testing.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Twenty participants (mean age, 72±9 years; 13 males) were included. GRASP-VIBE demonstrated superior image quality over TWIST-VIBE sequence with predominantly absent motion artifacts and increased diagnostic confidence (all P<0.001). Diagnostic performance significantly improved for detecting type II endoleaks in GRASP-VIBE compared to TWIST-VIBE scans [area under the curve (AUC): 0.96 <i>vs.</i> 0.73; P=0.04]. Diagnostic accuracy improved with GRASP-VIBE for overall (AUC: 0.94 <i>vs.</i> 0.79) and endoleak type I detection (AUC: 1.0 <i>vs.</i> 0.90), however, not significantly (P≥0.05). TWIST-VIBE sequences demonstrated significantly higher SNR for measurements in the clotted aneurysm sac (P=0.01). No significant differences were observed in CNR for the aorta and any aneurysm sacs across the compared imaging sequences.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Compressed-sensing dynamic GRASP-VIBE sequence, with its superior image quality, diagnostic confidence, and performance, may be preferred over standard TWIST-VIBE sequence in inconclusive endoleak cases.</p>","PeriodicalId":54267,"journal":{"name":"Quantitative Imaging in Medicine and Surgery","volume":"14 10","pages":"7420-7432"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2024-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11485362/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142480635","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-10-01Epub Date: 2024-08-26DOI: 10.21037/qims-24-720
Luying Gao, Jiayi Li, He Liu, Yu Xia, Binglu Li, Li Huo, Naishi Li, Yuxin Jiang
{"title":"Second-look ultrasound with positron emission tomography (PET) for evaluating recurrent lesions of medullary thyroid cancer: a case description.","authors":"Luying Gao, Jiayi Li, He Liu, Yu Xia, Binglu Li, Li Huo, Naishi Li, Yuxin Jiang","doi":"10.21037/qims-24-720","DOIUrl":"10.21037/qims-24-720","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":54267,"journal":{"name":"Quantitative Imaging in Medicine and Surgery","volume":"14 10","pages":"7704-7708"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2024-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11485340/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142480661","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-10-01Epub Date: 2024-09-21DOI: 10.21037/qims-24-53
Min Wang, Yue Ma, Yu Lan, Ruobing Bai, Linlin Yang, Yang Hou
Background: Hepatic steatosis is closely related to the occurrence and development of coronary plaques. Spectral detector computed tomography (SDCT) can provide more precise multiparameter quantitative parameters for hepatic steatosis. Hence, the purpose of this cross-sectional study was to explore the effect of quantitative liver metrics measured using SDCT on the extent and severity of coronary plaques.
Methods: In patients who underwent upper abdomen unenhanced SDCT and coronary computed tomography angiography, plaque extent and severity were assessed using segmental involvement score (SIS) and segmental stenosis score (SSS). Liver fat quantification was evaluated by polychromatic and virtual mono-energetic images at 40 and 70 kev, spectral attenuation curve slope, and effective atomic number (CT40 keV, CT70 kev, λHU, and Zeff, respectively). A logistic regression model evaluated the factors influencing high SIS and SSS.
Results: Enrolled patients (n=644) were divided into groups: low SIS (<5) (n=451), high SIS (≥5) (n=193), low SSS (<5) (n=461), and high SSS (≥5) (n=183). Zeff was more closely correlated with SIS (standard partial regression coefficient =-0.422, P<0.001) and SSS (standard partial regression coefficient =-0.346, P<0.001). Zeff was divided into four groups using interquartile intervals. Compared with the patients in the lowest quartile, those in the second [odds ratio (OR) =2.116, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.134-3.949, P=0.018], third (OR =2.832, 95% CI: 1.461-5.491, P=0.002), and fourth (OR =3.584, 95% CI: 1.857-6.918, P<0.001) quartiles showed higher risk for high SIS. And correspondingly, the second (OR =1.933, 95% CI: 1.040-3.592, P=0.037), third (OR =2.900, 95% CI: 1.499-5.609, P=0.002), and fourth (OR =3.368, 95% CI: 1.743-6.510, P<0.001) quartiles showed higher risk for high SSS, especially in those who were <60 years old, male and had visceral adipose tissue/subcutaneous adipose tissue <1.18.
Conclusions: The SDCT-Zeff was an independent factor associated with high SIS and SSS. The quantification of liver fat may be useful for evaluating the risk and prognosis of coronary atherosclerosis.
{"title":"Association of liver multi-parameter quantitative metrics determined by dual-layer spectral detector computed tomography (SDCT) with coronary plaque scores.","authors":"Min Wang, Yue Ma, Yu Lan, Ruobing Bai, Linlin Yang, Yang Hou","doi":"10.21037/qims-24-53","DOIUrl":"10.21037/qims-24-53","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Hepatic steatosis is closely related to the occurrence and development of coronary plaques. Spectral detector computed tomography (SDCT) can provide more precise multiparameter quantitative parameters for hepatic steatosis. Hence, the purpose of this cross-sectional study was to explore the effect of quantitative liver metrics measured using SDCT on the extent and severity of coronary plaques.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>In patients who underwent upper abdomen unenhanced SDCT and coronary computed tomography angiography, plaque extent and severity were assessed using segmental involvement score (SIS) and segmental stenosis score (SSS). Liver fat quantification was evaluated by polychromatic and virtual mono-energetic images at 40 and 70 kev, spectral attenuation curve slope, and effective atomic number (CT40 keV, CT70 kev, λHU, and Zeff, respectively). A logistic regression model evaluated the factors influencing high SIS and SSS.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Enrolled patients (n=644) were divided into groups: low SIS (<5) (n=451), high SIS (≥5) (n=193), low SSS (<5) (n=461), and high SSS (≥5) (n=183). Zeff was more closely correlated with SIS (standard partial regression coefficient =-0.422, P<0.001) and SSS (standard partial regression coefficient =-0.346, P<0.001). Zeff was divided into four groups using interquartile intervals. Compared with the patients in the lowest quartile, those in the second [odds ratio (OR) =2.116, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.134-3.949, P=0.018], third (OR =2.832, 95% CI: 1.461-5.491, P=0.002), and fourth (OR =3.584, 95% CI: 1.857-6.918, P<0.001) quartiles showed higher risk for high SIS. And correspondingly, the second (OR =1.933, 95% CI: 1.040-3.592, P=0.037), third (OR =2.900, 95% CI: 1.499-5.609, P=0.002), and fourth (OR =3.368, 95% CI: 1.743-6.510, P<0.001) quartiles showed higher risk for high SSS, especially in those who were <60 years old, male and had visceral adipose tissue/subcutaneous adipose tissue <1.18.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>The SDCT-Zeff was an independent factor associated with high SIS and SSS. The quantification of liver fat may be useful for evaluating the risk and prognosis of coronary atherosclerosis.</p>","PeriodicalId":54267,"journal":{"name":"Quantitative Imaging in Medicine and Surgery","volume":"14 10","pages":"7392-7405"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2024-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11485365/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142480701","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Background: Early detection of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) patients who are not sensitive to neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) can guard against overtreatment. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of amide proton transfer (APT) imaging and diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) in predicting the early response to NAC in patients with NPC.
Methods: This prospective study enrolled fifty patients with biopsy-confirmed NPC from September 2021 to May 2023. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) including APT and DWI, was performed before NAC. After NAC, patients were divided into complete response (CR), partial response (PR), and stable disease (SD) and progressive disease (PD) groups based on the Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumours Version 1.1. The Kruskal-Wallis H test was used for statistical analysis. The differences in APT and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values among the different efficacy groups were compared, the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was drawn for statistically significant parameters, and the area under the curve (AUC) was calculated.
Results: Fifty patients (mean age: 47±14 years; 42 males and 8 females) were included in the final analysis (11 were in the CR group, 30 in the PR group, 9 in the SD group, and 0 in the PD group). The ADC values showed no significant differences among the different treatment response groups. The SD group showed significantly lower APTmax (P=0.025), APTskewness (P=0.025) and APT90% (P=0.001) values than the CR and PR groups. Setting APT90% =3.10% as the cut-off value, optimal diagnostic performance (AUC: 0.831; sensitivity: 0.778; specificity: 0.878) was obtained in predicting the SD group.
Conclusions: APT imaging can predict the early tumour response to NAC in patients with NPC. APT imaging may be superior to DWI in predicting tumour response.
{"title":"The value of predicting neoadjuvant chemotherapy early efficacy in nasopharyngeal carcinoma based on amide proton transfer imaging and diffusion weighted imaging.","authors":"Yulin Zhang, Guomin Li, Jinyan Chen, Meien Jiang, Yunyu Gao, Kunsong Li, Hua Wen, Jianhao Yan","doi":"10.21037/qims-24-188","DOIUrl":"10.21037/qims-24-188","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Early detection of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) patients who are not sensitive to neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) can guard against overtreatment. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of amide proton transfer (APT) imaging and diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) in predicting the early response to NAC in patients with NPC.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This prospective study enrolled fifty patients with biopsy-confirmed NPC from September 2021 to May 2023. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) including APT and DWI, was performed before NAC. After NAC, patients were divided into complete response (CR), partial response (PR), and stable disease (SD) and progressive disease (PD) groups based on the Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumours Version 1.1. The Kruskal-Wallis H test was used for statistical analysis. The differences in APT and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values among the different efficacy groups were compared, the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was drawn for statistically significant parameters, and the area under the curve (AUC) was calculated.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Fifty patients (mean age: 47±14 years; 42 males and 8 females) were included in the final analysis (11 were in the CR group, 30 in the PR group, 9 in the SD group, and 0 in the PD group). The ADC values showed no significant differences among the different treatment response groups. The SD group showed significantly lower APT<sub>max</sub> (P=0.025), APT<sub>skewness</sub> (P=0.025) and APT<sub>90%</sub> (P=0.001) values than the CR and PR groups. Setting APT<sub>90%</sub> =3.10% as the cut-off value, optimal diagnostic performance (AUC: 0.831; sensitivity: 0.778; specificity: 0.878) was obtained in predicting the SD group.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>APT imaging can predict the early tumour response to NAC in patients with NPC. APT imaging may be superior to DWI in predicting tumour response.</p>","PeriodicalId":54267,"journal":{"name":"Quantitative Imaging in Medicine and Surgery","volume":"14 10","pages":"7330-7340"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2024-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11485347/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142480712","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
<p><strong>Background: </strong>Functional tricuspid regurgitation (FTR) has a pathophysiological connection with right heart remodeling. Given the increasing focus on right atrial remodeling in recent years, a comprehensive study of all aspects of right heart remodeling is crucial for understanding the progression and treatment of FTR. In the scientific literature, there is a lack of comprehensive exploration of right atrial remodeling in patients with FTR, and no reports on the potential correlation between the degree of this remodeling and the severity of tricuspid regurgitation (TR) have been published. This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between right heart parameters measured by four-dimensional (4D) automated quantitative echocardiography and the severity of TR in patients with FTR.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>In this prospective case-control study, 100 patients diagnosed with FTR by echocardiography at The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University from February 2022 to March 2023 were prospectively and consecutively selected as the case group, comprising 50 patients with mild FTR and 50 patients with moderate or severe FTR. Additionally, 30 healthy participants served as the control group. Routine echocardiography was employed to obtain two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) images, which was followed by 4D automated quantitative echocardiograph assessment. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) or Kruskal-Wallis tests were used to compare differences between groups, Pearson correlation coefficient analysis was used to discern the relationship between parameters and TR volume, multivariate linear regression was used to identify factors associated with TR volume, and logistic regression was employed to predict the severity of FTR.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The case group consisted of 50 patients with mild FTR (26 males, 52%; age range, 31-78 years; mean age ± SD: 58±11.4 years) and 50 patients with moderate-to-severe FTR (21 males, 42%; age range, 29-87 years; mean age ± SD: 60±13.0 years). Additionally, 30 healthy participants (13 males, 43%; age range, 19-81 years; mean age ± SD: 58±13.3 years) constituted the control group. Patients with moderate-to-severe FTR had significant right heart dilatation and functional decline. The TR volume was highly correlated with right atrium minimum volume (RAVmin; r=0.864; P<0.001), and linear regression showed that the RAVmin was independently correlated with the severity of TR in patients (β=0.820; P<0.001). There were several predictive variables that were significantly associated with increased FTR severity, including right atrial reservoir strain [RASr; odds ratio (OR) =0.702; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.575-0.857; P=0.001], right atrial conduit strain (RAScd; OR =1.308; 95% CI: 1.098-1.558; P=0.003), and right atrial reservoir circumferential strain (RASr-c; OR =0.823; 95% CI: 0.684-0.990; P=0.04).</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>4D automated quantitative
{"title":"Four-dimensional automated quantitative echocardiography assessment of right heart remodeling in patients with functional tricuspid regurgitation.","authors":"Yongzhi Cai, Xiaofeng Zhang, Tongtong Huang, Xiaoju Luo, Decai Zeng, Shuai Chang, Liuliu Huang, Yue Li, Ji Wu","doi":"10.21037/qims-24-676","DOIUrl":"10.21037/qims-24-676","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Functional tricuspid regurgitation (FTR) has a pathophysiological connection with right heart remodeling. Given the increasing focus on right atrial remodeling in recent years, a comprehensive study of all aspects of right heart remodeling is crucial for understanding the progression and treatment of FTR. In the scientific literature, there is a lack of comprehensive exploration of right atrial remodeling in patients with FTR, and no reports on the potential correlation between the degree of this remodeling and the severity of tricuspid regurgitation (TR) have been published. This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between right heart parameters measured by four-dimensional (4D) automated quantitative echocardiography and the severity of TR in patients with FTR.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>In this prospective case-control study, 100 patients diagnosed with FTR by echocardiography at The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University from February 2022 to March 2023 were prospectively and consecutively selected as the case group, comprising 50 patients with mild FTR and 50 patients with moderate or severe FTR. Additionally, 30 healthy participants served as the control group. Routine echocardiography was employed to obtain two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) images, which was followed by 4D automated quantitative echocardiograph assessment. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) or Kruskal-Wallis tests were used to compare differences between groups, Pearson correlation coefficient analysis was used to discern the relationship between parameters and TR volume, multivariate linear regression was used to identify factors associated with TR volume, and logistic regression was employed to predict the severity of FTR.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The case group consisted of 50 patients with mild FTR (26 males, 52%; age range, 31-78 years; mean age ± SD: 58±11.4 years) and 50 patients with moderate-to-severe FTR (21 males, 42%; age range, 29-87 years; mean age ± SD: 60±13.0 years). Additionally, 30 healthy participants (13 males, 43%; age range, 19-81 years; mean age ± SD: 58±13.3 years) constituted the control group. Patients with moderate-to-severe FTR had significant right heart dilatation and functional decline. The TR volume was highly correlated with right atrium minimum volume (RAVmin; r=0.864; P<0.001), and linear regression showed that the RAVmin was independently correlated with the severity of TR in patients (β=0.820; P<0.001). There were several predictive variables that were significantly associated with increased FTR severity, including right atrial reservoir strain [RASr; odds ratio (OR) =0.702; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.575-0.857; P=0.001], right atrial conduit strain (RAScd; OR =1.308; 95% CI: 1.098-1.558; P=0.003), and right atrial reservoir circumferential strain (RASr-c; OR =0.823; 95% CI: 0.684-0.990; P=0.04).</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>4D automated quantitative ","PeriodicalId":54267,"journal":{"name":"Quantitative Imaging in Medicine and Surgery","volume":"14 10","pages":"7318-7329"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2024-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11485358/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142480618","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-10-01Epub Date: 2024-09-26DOI: 10.21037/qims-24-847
Bin Zhou, Hao Yin, Yanxiong Wu, Qianyao Ye, Jianan Lin, Cong Ye, Mugui Xie, Xiaosong Li, Wei Bin, Zhimin Yang
Background: Static nailfold capillary parameters are important parameters that reflect the health of the human body. Disease onset or progression is often accompanied by changes in the physiological parameters of the nailfold. Hence, the physiological parameters of the nailfold are closely related to the study of disease, with their automated and high-precision measurements playing a crucial role in these studies. Currently, manually measured values of the nailfold's parameters are the gold standard; however, they are time consuming and labor intensive, making the development of automated measurement methods essential. Most automated measurement methods use skeleton lines; however, current skeleton-thinning algorithms have non-single pixels and redundant branches that lead to reduced measurement accuracy. This study proposes a single-pixel and non-redundant branching-based skeleton line extraction algorithm for nailfold capillaries, which is then applied to nailfold static parameter calculations to improve accuracy.
Methods: The algorithm includes deletion and restoration templates combined with the depth-first search method to obtain single-pixel skeleton lines without redundant branches. These lines are applied to the static nailfold capillary parameter measurement method based on digital image processing to calculate the blood vessel diameter.
Results: The results show that the proposed method can obtain the single-pixel skeleton line without the redundant branches that are required for the parameter calculations and improve the accuracy of the nailfold capillary diameter measurement. Experiments showed that the root mean square errors (RMSEs) of the labeled apical diameter, arterial limb diameter, and venous limb diameter were 0.794, 0.756, and 0.830 µm, respectively, when the calculated results were compared with those of the manual calculations. According to the accuracy formula, the accuracy of the method in this study is 90%. We calculated the P values of the algorithmic and manual measurements to P<0.001 and found that the difference in the measurements of the proposed algorithm is statistically significant. Therefore, the method in this study has high sensitivity and specificity for the measurement of normal nailfold capillaries.
Conclusions: The proposed algorithm could obtain single-pixel skeleton lines without redundant branches, thereby improving the nailfold static parameter measurement accuracy.
背景:静态甲襞毛细血管参数是反映人体健康状况的重要参数。疾病的发生或发展往往伴随着甲襞生理参数的变化。因此,甲襞生理参数与疾病研究密切相关,其自动化和高精度测量在这些研究中发挥着至关重要的作用。目前,人工测量甲襞参数值是金标准,但耗时耗力,因此开发自动测量方法至关重要。大多数自动测量方法都使用骨架线,但目前的骨架疏剪算法存在非单像素和冗余分支,导致测量精度降低。本研究提出了一种基于单像素和非冗余分支的甲襞毛细血管骨架线提取算法,然后将其应用于甲襞静态参数计算,以提高准确性:该算法包括删除和恢复模板,并结合深度优先搜索法,以获得无冗余分支的单像素骨架线。这些骨架线被应用于基于数字图像处理的静态甲襞毛细血管参数测量方法,以计算血管直径:结果表明,所提出的方法可以获得没有参数计算所需冗余分支的单像素骨架线,并提高了甲襞毛细血管直径测量的准确性。实验表明,将计算结果与人工计算结果进行比较,标注的顶端直径、动脉肢体直径和静脉肢体直径的均方根误差(RMSE)分别为 0.794、0.756 和 0.830 µm。根据准确度公式,本研究中该方法的准确度为 90%。我们计算了算法和人工测量对 PConclusions 的 P 值:所提出的算法可以得到没有多余分支的单像素骨架线,从而提高了甲襞静态参数测量的准确性。
{"title":"A single-pixel and non-redundant branching-based algorithm for nailfold capillary skeleton line extraction.","authors":"Bin Zhou, Hao Yin, Yanxiong Wu, Qianyao Ye, Jianan Lin, Cong Ye, Mugui Xie, Xiaosong Li, Wei Bin, Zhimin Yang","doi":"10.21037/qims-24-847","DOIUrl":"10.21037/qims-24-847","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Static nailfold capillary parameters are important parameters that reflect the health of the human body. Disease onset or progression is often accompanied by changes in the physiological parameters of the nailfold. Hence, the physiological parameters of the nailfold are closely related to the study of disease, with their automated and high-precision measurements playing a crucial role in these studies. Currently, manually measured values of the nailfold's parameters are the gold standard; however, they are time consuming and labor intensive, making the development of automated measurement methods essential. Most automated measurement methods use skeleton lines; however, current skeleton-thinning algorithms have non-single pixels and redundant branches that lead to reduced measurement accuracy. This study proposes a single-pixel and non-redundant branching-based skeleton line extraction algorithm for nailfold capillaries, which is then applied to nailfold static parameter calculations to improve accuracy.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>The algorithm includes deletion and restoration templates combined with the depth-first search method to obtain single-pixel skeleton lines without redundant branches. These lines are applied to the static nailfold capillary parameter measurement method based on digital image processing to calculate the blood vessel diameter.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The results show that the proposed method can obtain the single-pixel skeleton line without the redundant branches that are required for the parameter calculations and improve the accuracy of the nailfold capillary diameter measurement. Experiments showed that the root mean square errors (RMSEs) of the labeled apical diameter, arterial limb diameter, and venous limb diameter were 0.794, 0.756, and 0.830 µm, respectively, when the calculated results were compared with those of the manual calculations. According to the accuracy formula, the accuracy of the method in this study is 90%. We calculated the P values of the algorithmic and manual measurements to P<0.001 and found that the difference in the measurements of the proposed algorithm is statistically significant. Therefore, the method in this study has high sensitivity and specificity for the measurement of normal nailfold capillaries.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>The proposed algorithm could obtain single-pixel skeleton lines without redundant branches, thereby improving the nailfold static parameter measurement accuracy.</p>","PeriodicalId":54267,"journal":{"name":"Quantitative Imaging in Medicine and Surgery","volume":"14 10","pages":"7442-7458"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2024-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11485390/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142480698","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-10-01Epub Date: 2024-06-21DOI: 10.21037/qims-23-1726
Cheng Guan, Da-Yan Huang, Jun Luo
{"title":"Adventurous toothpick: the role of ultrasound and contrast-enhanced ultrasound.","authors":"Cheng Guan, Da-Yan Huang, Jun Luo","doi":"10.21037/qims-23-1726","DOIUrl":"10.21037/qims-23-1726","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":54267,"journal":{"name":"Quantitative Imaging in Medicine and Surgery","volume":"14 10","pages":"7768-7774"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2024-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11485337/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142486133","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-10-01Epub Date: 2024-09-26DOI: 10.21037/qims-24-892
Lei Xie, Zelin Zhuang, Xiaona Lin, Xiaoyan Shi, Yanmin Zheng, Kailuan Wu, Shuhua Ma
Background: Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a disorder characterized by signaling dysregulation between the brain and gut, leading to gastrointestinal dysfunction. Symptoms such as abdominal pain and constipation can manifest periodically or persistently, and negative emotions may exacerbate the symptoms. Previous studies have shown that the pathogenesis of IBS is closely related to the brain-gut axis and brain function, but there are still difficulties in disease diagnosis. Therefore, this study applied a machine-learning approach based on resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) whole-brain functional connectivity (FC) to distinguish IBS patients from healthy controls (HCs).
Methods: A total of 176 subjects, comprising 88 consecutive patients with IBS and 88 age-, sex- and education-matched HCs, were enrolled in this study between January 2020 and January 2024 at the First Affiliated Hospital of Shantou University Medical College. All the subjects underwent rs-fMRI and high-resolution anatomical T1-weighted imaging (T1WI) examinations. Following the preprocessing of the rs-fMRI image data, FC matrices between all regions of interest (ROIs) were extracted using automated anatomical labeling (AAL). Subsequently, supervised machine learning was performed using whole-brain FC for classification features to identify the best-performing model. Finally, weights of the optimal model's features were exported to confirm the neuroanatomical regions significantly influencing model establishment.
Results: Compared with other supervised learning models, the support vector machine (SVM) model had significantly higher classification accuracy and performed significantly better than the other models (P<0.05) with a classification accuracy of 75% and an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.7788 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.6861-0.8715) (P<0.01). In addition, the FC features from the Rolandic operculum (ROL) to the anterior cingulate gyrus (ACG), the calcarine sulcus (CAL) to the triangular part of the inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), the gyrus rectus (REC) to the inferior occipital gyrus (IOG), the lingual gyrus (LING) to the putamen (PUT), and the IOG to the angular gyrus (ANG) were relatively important in the construction of the machine-learning models.
Conclusions: The SVM was the optimal machine-learning model for effectively classifying IBS patients and HCs based on whole-brain resting-state FC matrices. The FC features between the emotion-related brain regions significantly affected the construction of the machine-learning models. As a classification feature in machine learning, whole-brain resting-state FC holds the potential to achieve precision medicine in IBS and enhance disease diagnostic efficacy.
背景:肠易激综合征(IBS肠易激综合征(IBS)是一种以大脑和肠道之间信号失调为特征的疾病,会导致胃肠功能紊乱。腹痛和便秘等症状可表现为周期性或持续性,负面情绪可能会加重症状。以往的研究表明,肠易激综合征的发病机制与脑-肠轴和大脑功能密切相关,但在疾病诊断方面仍存在困难。因此,本研究采用基于静息态功能磁共振成像(rs-fMRI)全脑功能连接(FC)的机器学习方法来区分肠易激综合征患者和健康对照组(HCs):2020年1月至2024年1月期间,汕头大学医学院第一附属医院共招募了176名受试者,包括88名连续的肠易激综合征患者和88名年龄、性别和教育程度相匹配的健康对照组。所有受试者均接受了 rs-fMRI 和高分辨率解剖 T1 加权成像(T1WI)检查。在对rs-fMRI图像数据进行预处理后,使用自动解剖标记(AAL)提取所有感兴趣区(ROI)之间的FC矩阵。随后,使用全脑 FC 作为分类特征进行有监督的机器学习,以确定表现最佳的模型。最后,输出最佳模型特征的权重,以确认对模型建立有显著影响的神经解剖区域:结果:与其他监督学习模型相比,支持向量机(SVM)模型的分类准确率明显更高,其表现也明显优于其他模型(PC结论:SVM是最佳的机器学习模型:SVM是基于全脑静息态FC矩阵对IBS患者和HC进行有效分类的最佳机器学习模型。情绪相关脑区之间的 FC 特征对机器学习模型的构建有显著影响。作为机器学习的分类特征,全脑静息态FC有望实现IBS的精准医疗,提高疾病诊断效果。
{"title":"Support vector machine classification of irritable bowel syndrome patients based on whole-brain resting-state functional connectivity features.","authors":"Lei Xie, Zelin Zhuang, Xiaona Lin, Xiaoyan Shi, Yanmin Zheng, Kailuan Wu, Shuhua Ma","doi":"10.21037/qims-24-892","DOIUrl":"10.21037/qims-24-892","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a disorder characterized by signaling dysregulation between the brain and gut, leading to gastrointestinal dysfunction. Symptoms such as abdominal pain and constipation can manifest periodically or persistently, and negative emotions may exacerbate the symptoms. Previous studies have shown that the pathogenesis of IBS is closely related to the brain-gut axis and brain function, but there are still difficulties in disease diagnosis. Therefore, this study applied a machine-learning approach based on resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) whole-brain functional connectivity (FC) to distinguish IBS patients from healthy controls (HCs).</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A total of 176 subjects, comprising 88 consecutive patients with IBS and 88 age-, sex- and education-matched HCs, were enrolled in this study between January 2020 and January 2024 at the First Affiliated Hospital of Shantou University Medical College. All the subjects underwent rs-fMRI and high-resolution anatomical T1-weighted imaging (T1WI) examinations. Following the preprocessing of the rs-fMRI image data, FC matrices between all regions of interest (ROIs) were extracted using automated anatomical labeling (AAL). Subsequently, supervised machine learning was performed using whole-brain FC for classification features to identify the best-performing model. Finally, weights of the optimal model's features were exported to confirm the neuroanatomical regions significantly influencing model establishment.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Compared with other supervised learning models, the support vector machine (SVM) model had significantly higher classification accuracy and performed significantly better than the other models (P<0.05) with a classification accuracy of 75% and an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.7788 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.6861-0.8715) (P<0.01). In addition, the FC features from the Rolandic operculum (ROL) to the anterior cingulate gyrus (ACG), the calcarine sulcus (CAL) to the triangular part of the inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), the gyrus rectus (REC) to the inferior occipital gyrus (IOG), the lingual gyrus (LING) to the putamen (PUT), and the IOG to the angular gyrus (ANG) were relatively important in the construction of the machine-learning models.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>The SVM was the optimal machine-learning model for effectively classifying IBS patients and HCs based on whole-brain resting-state FC matrices. The FC features between the emotion-related brain regions significantly affected the construction of the machine-learning models. As a classification feature in machine learning, whole-brain resting-state FC holds the potential to achieve precision medicine in IBS and enhance disease diagnostic efficacy.</p>","PeriodicalId":54267,"journal":{"name":"Quantitative Imaging in Medicine and Surgery","volume":"14 10","pages":"7279-7290"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2024-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11485364/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142480663","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}