ISSN 1004-4140
    CN 11-3017/P

    颞骨U-HRCT标准层面自动校正及效能验证

    Automatic Alignment and Performance Validation of Temporal Bone Standard Planes in U-HRCT

    • 摘要: 本研究依托大样本影像数据,验证基于外半规管(LSC)分割与参照线面角统计先验构建的超高分辨力CT(U-HRCT)标准层面自动校正算法;通过临床效能评估与校正失败病例原因分析,验证该算法可靠性,旨在解决单侧颞骨检查手动后处理繁琐低效的问题。回顾性纳入U-HRCT时序数据3094例(5668耳),采用内耳子结构分割网络分割LSC,并提取参照线面角统计先验完成对单侧颞骨标准层面自动校正。采用3分制评分法对5668耳样本自动校正结果进行评分;针对校正失败样本,进一步对其LSC自动分割结果进行3分制评分,并分析失败原因;随后对比分析随机抽取的校正合格组与校正失败组的LSC自动分割评分。入组的5668耳评分显示:3分(优秀)占比69.83%(3958耳),2分(良好)占比21.81%(1236耳),1分(失败)占比8.36%(474耳),合格率(评分≥2分)为91.64%。在474耳校正失败样本中,LSC自动分割结果评分中,无3分(分割完整、边界清晰),2分(分割基本完整、局部偏差)占6.12%(29耳),1分(分割残缺、边界模糊或定位偏移)占93.88%(445耳)。校正合格组与失败组LSC分割评分差异存在统计学意义,提示LSC分割质量不佳是校正失败的主要直接原因。失败原因分析显示:未累及LSC的内耳解剖结构变异或畸形占比10.34%,未累及LSC的各种原因导致的颞骨骨质密度异常、骨质缺损占比27.00%,金属植入术后改变占比12.66%,自动分割算法分割失败占比50.00%。本研究提出的基于LSC分割与参照线面角统计先验的单侧颞骨U-HRCT标准层面自动校正算法合格率达91.64%,可显著提升影像后处理的标准化与效率;校正失败与LSC分割质量高度相关,为后续算法优化指明了改进方向。

       

      Abstract:
      Objective This study aimed to validate an automatic standard-plane alignment algorithm for temporal bone ultra-high resolution CT (U-HRCT) using large-scale imaging datasets. Based on lateral semicircular canal segmentation and statistical priors of angles between reference lines and planes, the proposed algorithm solves the problem of tedious and inefficient manual post-processing during unilateral temporal bone examinations. In addition, we performed clinical efficacy evaluation and analysis of cases with alignment failure to assess the reliability of this algorithm. A total of 3094 patients (5668 ears) with U-HRCT data were enrolled retrospectively. A Inner ear substructure segmentation network model was applied to automatically segment the lateral semicircular canal (LSC). Statistical priors of the extracted reference line-plane angles (θ) were adopted to identify and align standard unilateral planes. A three-point scoring system was adopted to evaluate the automatic alignment outcomes of all 5668 ear samples. For samples with failed alignment, further three-point scoring was performed on corresponding automatic LSC segmentation results, followed by an analysis of failure causes. Finally, we compared the LSC automatic segmentation scores of randomly sampled success group and the failure group. Among the 5668 enrolled ears, scoring results demonstrated that 69.83% (3958 ears) achieved a score of 3 (excellent), 21.81% (1236 ears) scored 2 (good), and 8.36% (474 ears) scored 1 (failure), yielding a qualified rate (score≥2) of 91.64%. Within the 474 ears with alignment failure, none of the automatic LSC segmentations attained a score of 3 (intact segmentation with well-defined borders); 6.12% (29 ears) were graded 2 (essentially intact segmentation with partial marginal deviation), and the remaining 93.88% (445 ears) were graded 1 (incomplete segmentation, blurred boundaries or positional offset). There was a statistically significant difference in LSC segmentation scores between the qualified alignment group and the failed alignment group, indicating poor LSC segmentation served as the predominant direct contributor to alignment failure. Etiological analysis of failures revealed the following constituent ratios: inner ear anatomical variation or malformation sparing the lateral semicircular canal (10.34%), abnormal temporal bone mineral density or osseous defects unrelated to LSC (27.00%), postoperative changes secondary to metallic implant placement (12.66%), and intrinsic algorithmic failure of automatic segmentation (50.00%).The proposed automatic alignment method relying on LSC segmentation and statistical priors of reference line-plane angles achieves a qualified rate of 91.64% for standard slice alignment of unilateral temporal bone on U-HRCT, which markedly improves the standardisation and efficiency of radiological post-processing. Alignment failure is strongly correlated with LSC segmentation quality, providing a clear direction for the optimisation of subsequent algorithms.

       

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