The reproducibility of positron emission tomography (PET) radiomics features is affected by several factors, such as scanning equipment, drug metabolism time and reconstruction algorithm. We aimed to explore the role of 3D local binary pattern (LBP)-based texture in increasing the accuracy and reproducibility of PET radiomics for predicting pelvic lymph node metastasis (PLNM) in patients with cervical cancer.
We retrospectively analysed data from 177 patients with cervical squamous cell carcinoma. They underwent 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (18F-FDG)whole-body PET/computed tomography (PET/CT), followed by pelvic 18F-FDG PET/magnetic resonance imaging (PET/MR). We selected reproducible and informative PET radiomics features using Lin's concordance correlation coefficient, least absolute shrinkage and selection operator algorithm, and established 4 models, PET/CT, PET/CT-fusion, PET/MR and PET/MR-fusion, using the logistic regression algorithm. We performed receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis to evaluate the models in the training data set (65 patients who underwent radical hysterectomy and pelvic lymph node dissection) and test data set (112 patients who received concurrent chemoradiotherapy or no treatment). The DeLong test was used for pairwise comparison of the ROC curves among the models.
The distribution of age, squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics stage and PLNM between the training and test data sets were different (P < 0.05). The LBP-transformed radiomics features (50/379) had higher reproducibility than the original radiomics features (9/107). Accuracy of each model in predicting PLNM was as follows: training data set: PET/CT = PET/CT-fusion = PET/MR-fusion (0.848) and test data set: PET/CT = PET/CT-fusion (0.985) > PET/MR = PET/MR-fusion (0.954). There was no statistical difference between the ROC curve of PET/CT and PET/MR models in both data sets (P > 0.05).
The LBP-transformed radiomics features based on PET images could increase the accuracy and reproducibility of PET radiomics in predicting pelvic lymph node metastasis in cervical cancer to allow the model to be generalised for clinical use across multiple centres.
Segmentation of medical images is a crucial process in various image analysis applications. Automated segmentation methods excel in accuracy when compared to manual segmentation in the context of medical image analysis. One of the essential phases in the quantitative analysis of the brain is automated brain tissue segmentation using clinically obtained magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data. It allows for precise quantitative examination of the brain, which aids in diagnosis, identification, and classification of disorders. Consequently, the efficacy of the segmentation approach is crucial to disease diagnosis and treatment planning.
This study presented a hybrid optimization method for segmenting brain tissue in clinical MRI scans using a fractional Henry horse herd gas optimization-based Shepard convolutional neural network (FrHHGO-based ShCNN). To segment the clinical brain MRI images into white matter (WM), grey matter (GM), and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) tissues, the proposed framework was evaluated on the Lifespan Human Connectome Projects (HCP) database. The hybrid optimization algorithm, FrHHGO, integrates the fractional Henry gas optimization (FHGO) and horse herd optimization (HHO) algorithms. Training required 30 min, whereas testing and segmentation of brain tissues from an unseen image required an average of 12 s.
Compared to the results obtained with no refinements, the Skull stripping refinement showed significant improvement. As the method included a preprocessing stage, it was flexible enough to enhance image quality, allowing for better results even with low-resolution input. Maximum precision of 93.2%, recall of 91.5%, Dice score of 91.1%, and F1-score of 90.5% were achieved using the proposed FrHHGO-based ShCNN, which was superior to all other approaches.
The proposed method may outperform existing state-of-the-art methodologies in qualitative and quantitative measurements across a wide range of medical modalities. It might demonstrate its potential for real-life clinical application.