Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a frequently encountered neurological disease with a progressive but variable course affecting
the central nervous system. Outline-based lesion quantification in the assessment of lesion load (LL) performed on
magnetic resonance (MR) images is clinically useful and provides information about the development and change
reflecting overall disease burden. Methods of LL assessment that rely on human input are tedious, have higher intra- and
inter-observer variability and are more time-consuming than computerized automatic (CAD) techniques. At present it
seems that methods based on human lesion identification preceded by non-interactive outlining by CAD are the best LL
quantification strategies.
We have developed a CAD that automatically quantifies MS lesions, displays 3-D lesion map and appends radiological
findings to original images according to current DICOM standard. CAD is also capable to display and track changes and
make comparison between patient's separate MRI studies to determine disease progression. The findings are exported to
a separate imaging tool for review and final approval by expert. Capturing and standardized archiving of manual
contours is also implemented. Similarity coefficients calculated from quantities of LL in collected exams show a good
correlation of CAD-derived results vs. those incorporated as expert's reading.
Combining the CAD approach with an expert interaction may impact to the diagnostic work-up of MS patients because
of improved reproducibility in LL assessment and reduced time for single MR or comparative exams reading. Inclusion
of CAD-generated outlines as DICOM-compliant overlays into the image data can serve as a better reference in MS
progression tracking.
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a progressive neurological disease affecting myelin pathways. MRI has become the
medical imaging study of choice both for the diagnosis and for the follow-up and monitoring of multiple sclerosis.
The progression of the disease is variable, and requires routine follow-up to document disease exacerbation,
improvement, or stability of the characteristic MS lesions or plaques. The difficulties with using MRI as a
monitoring tool are the significant quantities of time needed by the radiologist to actually measure the size of the
lesions, and the poor reproducibility of these manual measurements. A CAD system for automatic image analysis
improves clinical efficiency and standardizes the lesion measurements. Multiple sclerosis is a disease well suited
for automated analysis. The segmentation algorithm devised classifies normal and abnormal brain structures
and measures the volume of multiple sclerosis lesions using fuzzy c-means clustering with incorporated spatial
(sFCM) information. First, an intracranial structures mask in T1 image data is localized and then superimposed
in FLAIR image data. Next, MS lesions are identified by sFCM and quantified within a predefined volume. The
initial validation process confirms a satisfactory comparison of automatic segmentation to manual outline by a
neuroradiologist and the results will be presented.
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