386 research outputs found
Automated Distinct Bone Segmentation from Computed Tomography Images using Deep Learning
Large-scale CT scans are frequently performed for forensic and diagnostic purposes, to plan and
direct surgical procedures, and to track the development of bone-related diseases. This often
involves radiologists who have to annotate bones manually or in a semi-automatic way, which is
a time consuming task. Their annotation workload can be reduced by automated segmentation
and detection of individual bones. This automation of distinct bone segmentation not only has
the potential to accelerate current workflows but also opens up new possibilities for processing
and presenting medical data for planning, navigation, and education.
In this thesis, we explored the use of deep learning for automating the segmentation of all
individual bones within an upper-body CT scan. To do so, we had to find a network architec-
ture that provides a good trade-off between the problem’s high computational demands and the
results’ accuracy. After finding a baseline method and having enlarged the dataset, we set out
to eliminate the most prevalent types of error. To do so, we introduced an novel method called
binary-prediction-enhanced multi-class (BEM) inference, separating the task into two: Distin-
guishing bone from non-bone is conducted separately from identifying the individual bones.
Both predictions are then merged, which leads to superior results. Another type of error is tack-
led by our developed architecture, the Sneaky-Net, which receives additional inputs with larger
fields of view but at a smaller resolution. We can thus sneak more extensive areas of the input
into the network while keeping the growth of additional pixels in check.
Overall, we present a deep-learning-based method that reliably segments most of the over
one hundred distinct bones present in upper-body CT scans in an end-to-end trained matter
quickly enough to be used in interactive software. Our algorithm has been included in our
groups virtual reality medical image visualisation software SpectoVR with the plan to be used
as one of the puzzle piece in surgical planning and navigation, as well as in the education of
future doctors
Analytical validation of innovative magneto-inertial outcomes: a controlled environment study.
peer reviewe
Artificial Intelligence: Development and Applications in Neurosurgery
The last decade has witnessed a significant increase in the relevance of artificial intelligence (AI) in neuroscience. Gaining notoriety from its potential to revolutionize medical decision making, data analytics, and clinical workflows, AI is poised to be increasingly implemented into neurosurgical practice. However, certain considerations pose significant challenges to its immediate and widespread implementation. Hence, this chapter will explore current developments in AI as it pertains to the field of clinical neuroscience, with a primary focus on neurosurgery. Additionally included is a brief discussion of important economic and ethical considerations related to the feasibility and implementation of AI-based technologies in neurosciences, including future horizons such as the operational integrations of human and non-human capabilities
Lumbar spine segmentation in MR images: a dataset and a public benchmark
This paper presents a large publicly available multi-center lumbar spine
magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) dataset with reference segmentations of
vertebrae, intervertebral discs (IVDs), and spinal canal. The dataset includes
447 sagittal T1 and T2 MRI series from 218 patients with a history of low back
pain. It was collected from four different hospitals and was divided into a
training (179 patients) and validation (39 patients) set. An iterative data
annotation approach was used by training a segmentation algorithm on a small
part of the dataset, enabling semi-automatic segmentation of the remaining
images. The algorithm provided an initial segmentation, which was subsequently
reviewed, manually corrected, and added to the training data. We provide
reference performance values for this baseline algorithm and nnU-Net, which
performed comparably. We set up a continuous segmentation challenge to allow
for a fair comparison of different segmentation algorithms. This study may
encourage wider collaboration in the field of spine segmentation, and improve
the diagnostic value of lumbar spine MRI
Is attention all you need in medical image analysis? A review
Medical imaging is a key component in clinical diagnosis, treatment planning
and clinical trial design, accounting for almost 90% of all healthcare data.
CNNs achieved performance gains in medical image analysis (MIA) over the last
years. CNNs can efficiently model local pixel interactions and be trained on
small-scale MI data. The main disadvantage of typical CNN models is that they
ignore global pixel relationships within images, which limits their
generalisation ability to understand out-of-distribution data with different
'global' information. The recent progress of Artificial Intelligence gave rise
to Transformers, which can learn global relationships from data. However, full
Transformer models need to be trained on large-scale data and involve
tremendous computational complexity. Attention and Transformer compartments
(Transf/Attention) which can well maintain properties for modelling global
relationships, have been proposed as lighter alternatives of full Transformers.
Recently, there is an increasing trend to co-pollinate complementary
local-global properties from CNN and Transf/Attention architectures, which led
to a new era of hybrid models. The past years have witnessed substantial growth
in hybrid CNN-Transf/Attention models across diverse MIA problems. In this
systematic review, we survey existing hybrid CNN-Transf/Attention models,
review and unravel key architectural designs, analyse breakthroughs, and
evaluate current and future opportunities as well as challenges. We also
introduced a comprehensive analysis framework on generalisation opportunities
of scientific and clinical impact, based on which new data-driven domain
generalisation and adaptation methods can be stimulated
Benchmarking Encoder-Decoder Architectures for Biplanar X-ray to 3D Shape Reconstruction
Various deep learning models have been proposed for 3D bone shape
reconstruction from two orthogonal (biplanar) X-ray images. However, it is
unclear how these models compare against each other since they are evaluated on
different anatomy, cohort and (often privately held) datasets. Moreover, the
impact of the commonly optimized image-based segmentation metrics such as dice
score on the estimation of clinical parameters relevant in 2D-3D bone shape
reconstruction is not well known. To move closer toward clinical translation,
we propose a benchmarking framework that evaluates tasks relevant to real-world
clinical scenarios, including reconstruction of fractured bones, bones with
implants, robustness to population shift, and error in estimating clinical
parameters. Our open-source platform provides reference implementations of 8
models (many of whose implementations were not publicly available), APIs to
easily collect and preprocess 6 public datasets, and the implementation of
automatic clinical parameter and landmark extraction methods. We present an
extensive evaluation of 8 2D-3D models on equal footing using 6 public datasets
comprising images for four different anatomies. Our results show that
attention-based methods that capture global spatial relationships tend to
perform better across all anatomies and datasets; performance on clinically
relevant subgroups may be overestimated without disaggregated reporting; ribs
are substantially more difficult to reconstruct compared to femur, hip and
spine; and the dice score improvement does not always bring a corresponding
improvement in the automatic estimation of clinically relevant parameters.Comment: accepted to NeurIPS 202
Proceedings XXIII Congresso SIAMOC 2023
Il congresso annuale della Società Italiana di Analisi del Movimento in Clinica (SIAMOC), giunto quest’anno alla sua ventitreesima edizione, approda nuovamente a Roma.
Il congresso SIAMOC, come ogni anno, è l’occasione per tutti i professionisti che operano nell’ambito dell’analisi del movimento di incontrarsi, presentare i risultati delle proprie ricerche e rimanere aggiornati sulle più recenti innovazioni riguardanti le procedure e le tecnologie per l’analisi del movimento nella pratica clinica.
Il congresso SIAMOC 2023 di Roma si propone l’obiettivo di fornire ulteriore impulso ad una già eccellente attività di ricerca italiana nel settore dell’analisi del movimento e di conferirle ulteriore respiro ed impatto internazionale.
Oltre ai qualificanti temi tradizionali che riguardano la ricerca di base e applicata in ambito clinico e sportivo, il congresso SIAMOC 2023 intende approfondire ulteriori tematiche di particolare interesse scientifico e di impatto sulla società . Tra questi temi anche quello dell’inserimento lavorativo di persone affette da disabilità anche grazie alla diffusione esponenziale in ambito clinico-occupazionale delle tecnologie robotiche collaborative e quello della protesica innovativa a supporto delle persone con amputazione. Verrà infine affrontato il tema dei nuovi algoritmi di intelligenza artificiale per l’ottimizzazione della classificazione in tempo reale dei pattern motori nei vari campi di applicazione
Application of Advanced MRI to Fetal Medicine and Surgery
Robust imaging is essential for comprehensive preoperative evaluation, prognostication, and surgical planning in the field of fetal medicine and surgery. This is a challenging task given the small fetal size and increased fetal and maternal motion which affect MRI spatial resolution.
This thesis explores the clinical applicability of post-acquisition processing using MRI advances such as super-resolution reconstruction (SRR) to generate optimal 3D isotropic volumes of anatomical structures by mitigating unpredictable fetal and maternal motion artefact. It paves the way for automated robust and accurate rapid segmentation of the fetal brain. This enables a hierarchical analysis of volume, followed by a local surface-based shape analysis (joint spectral matching) using mathematical markers (curvedness, shape index) that infer gyrification. This allows for more precise, quantitative measurements, and calculation of longitudinal correspondences of cortical brain development.
I explore the potential of these MRI advances in three clinical settings: fetal brain development in the context of fetal surgery for spina bifida, airway assessment in fetal tracheolaryngeal obstruction, and the placental-myometrial-bladder interface in placenta accreta spectrum (PAS). For the fetal brain, MRI advances demonstrated an understanding of the impact of intervention on cortical development which may improve fetal candidate selection, neurocognitive prognostication, and parental counselling. This is of critical importance given that spina bifida fetal surgery is now a clinical reality and is routinely being performed globally. For the fetal trachea, SRR can provide improved anatomical information to better select those pregnancies where an EXIT procedure is required to enable the fetal airway to be secured in a timely manner. This would improve maternal and fetal morbidity outcomes associated with haemorrhage and hypoxic brain injury. Similarly, in PAS, SRR may assist surgical planning by providing enhanced anatomical assessment and prediction for adverse peri-operative maternal outcome such as bladder injury, catastrophic obstetric haemorrhage and maternal death
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