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Arsenescu T, Chifor R, Marita T, Santoma A, Lebovici A, Duma D, Vacaras V, Badea AF. 3D Ultrasound Reconstructions of the Carotid Artery and Thyroid Gland Using Artificial-Intelligence-Based Automatic Segmentation-Qualitative and Quantitative Evaluation of the Segmentation Results via Comparison with CT Angiography. Sensors (Basel) 2023; 23:2806. [PMID: 36905009 PMCID: PMC10007177 DOI: 10.3390/s23052806] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/26/2022] [Revised: 02/27/2023] [Accepted: 02/28/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
The aim of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of a noninvasive and low-operator-dependent imaging method for carotid-artery-stenosis diagnosis. A previously developed prototype for 3D ultrasound scans based on a standard ultrasound machine and a pose reading sensor was used for this study. Working in a 3D space and processing data using automatic segmentation lowers operator dependency. Additionally, ultrasound imaging is a noninvasive diagnosis method. Artificial intelligence (AI)-based automatic segmentation of the acquired data was performed for the reconstruction and visualization of the scanned area: the carotid artery wall, the carotid artery circulated lumen, soft plaque, and calcified plaque. A qualitative evaluation was conducted via comparing the US reconstruction results with the CT angiographies of healthy and carotid-artery-disease patients. The overall scores for the automated segmentation using the MultiResUNet model for all segmented classes in our study were 0.80 for the IoU and 0.94 for the Dice. The present study demonstrated the potential of the MultiResUNet-based model for 2D-ultrasound-image automated segmentation for atherosclerosis diagnosis purposes. Using 3D ultrasound reconstructions may help operators achieve better spatial orientation and evaluation of segmentation results.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tudor Arsenescu
- Computer Science Department, Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, 400114 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
- Chifor Research SRL, 400068 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
| | - Radu Chifor
- Chifor Research SRL, 400068 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
- Department of Preventive Dentistry, “Iuliu Hatieganu” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 400083 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
| | - Tiberiu Marita
- Computer Science Department, Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, 400114 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
| | - Andrei Santoma
- Computer Science Department, Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, 400114 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
| | - Andrei Lebovici
- Radiology, Surgical Specialties Department, “Iuliu Hatieganu” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 400006 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
- Radiology and Imaging Department, Cluj County Emergency Clinical Hospital, 400006 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
| | - Daniel Duma
- Radiology and Imaging Department, Cluj County Emergency Clinical Hospital, 400006 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
| | - Vitalie Vacaras
- Department of Neurosciences, “Iuliu Hatieganu” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 400012 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
- Neurology Department, Cluj County Emergency Hospital, 400012 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
| | - Alexandru Florin Badea
- Anatomy and Embryology, Faculty of General Medicine, “Iuliu Hatieganu” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 400006 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
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Chifor R, Marita T, Arsenescu T, Santoma A, Badea AF, Colosi HA, Badea ME, Chifor I. Accuracy Report on a Handheld 3D Ultrasound Scanner Prototype Based on a Standard Ultrasound Machine and a Spatial Pose Reading Sensor. Sensors (Basel) 2022; 22:s22093358. [PMID: 35591048 PMCID: PMC9103853 DOI: 10.3390/s22093358] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2022] [Revised: 04/11/2022] [Accepted: 04/25/2022] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
The aim of this study was to develop and evaluate a 3D ultrasound scanning method. The main requirements were the freehand architecture of the scanner and high accuracy of the reconstructions. A quantitative evaluation of a freehand 3D ultrasound scanner prototype was performed, comparing the ultrasonographic reconstructions with the CAD (computer-aided design) model of the scanned object, to determine the accuracy of the result. For six consecutive scans, the 3D ultrasonographic reconstructions were scaled and aligned with the model. The mean distance between the 3D objects ranged between 0.019 and 0.05 mm and the standard deviation between 0.287 mm and 0.565 mm. Despite some inherent limitations of our study, the quantitative evaluation of the 3D ultrasonographic reconstructions showed comparable results to other studies performed on smaller areas of the scanned objects, demonstrating the future potential of the developed prototype.
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Affiliation(s)
- Radu Chifor
- Department of Preventive Dentistry, University of Medicine and Pharmacy Iuliu Hatieganu, 400083 Cluj-Napoca, Romania; (R.C.); (M.-E.B.); (I.C.)
| | - Tiberiu Marita
- Computer Science Department, Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, 400114 Cluj-Napoca, Romania;
- Correspondence:
| | | | - Andrei Santoma
- Computer Science Department, Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, 400114 Cluj-Napoca, Romania;
| | | | - Horatiu Alexandru Colosi
- Department of Medical Education, Division of Medical Informatics and Biostatistics, Iuliu Hatieganu University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 400349 Cluj-Napoca, Romania;
| | - Mindra-Eugenia Badea
- Department of Preventive Dentistry, University of Medicine and Pharmacy Iuliu Hatieganu, 400083 Cluj-Napoca, Romania; (R.C.); (M.-E.B.); (I.C.)
| | - Ioana Chifor
- Department of Preventive Dentistry, University of Medicine and Pharmacy Iuliu Hatieganu, 400083 Cluj-Napoca, Romania; (R.C.); (M.-E.B.); (I.C.)
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