Evaluation of automatic cochlear dimension measurement using ALPACA: a comparative study.

Background: Cochlear dimension measurements are critical in diagnosing and managing congenital sensorineural hearing loss.

Objectives: To evaluate the feasibility and reliability of an automated landmark approach for measuring cochlear dimensions (A-, B- and H-values).

Material and methods: Cochlear parameters from 100 patients were measured by MPR, manual three-dimensional and ALPACA. We assessed intra- and inter-observer reliability as well as inter-method reliability. Statistical analyses were conducted to detect differences between the right and left ears, as well as to assess the relevance of the values obtained using ALPACA.

Results: All A-, B-, and H-values measured by the various methods showed a high intra-observer reliability with intra-class correlation coefficients (ICC) ranging from 0.70 to 0.99, and values gained by ALPACA reaching the highest ICC. Inter-method reliability was at a good level with ICC ranging from 0.51 to 0.86. There were no significant differences between the right and left ears' measured values. Obvious positive correlations existed among cochlear dimensions measured by ALPACA.

Conclusions and significance: The ALPACA method can be used to measure cochlear dimensions. Values obtained by the method demonstrate high reliability and consistency with a significant reduction in intra-observer variability compared to results from conventional MPR and manual 3D measurements.