Automatic segmentation of whole-body bone scintigrams as a preprocessing step for computer assisted diagnostics

Bone scintigraphy or whole-body bone scan is one of the most common diagnostic procedures in nuclear medicine used in the last 25 years. Pathological conditions, technically poor quality images and artifacts necessitate that algorithms use su±cient background knowledge of anatomy and spatial relations of bones in order to work satisfactorily. We present a robust knowledge based methodology for detecting reference points of the main skeletal regions that simultaneously processes anterior and posterior whole-body bone scintigrams. Expert knowledge is represented as a set of parameterized rules which are used to support standard image processing algorithms. Our study includes 467 consecutive, non-selected scintigrams, which is to our knowledge the largest number of images ever used in such studies. Automatic analysis of whole-body bone scans using our knowledge based segmentation algorithm gives more accurate and reliable results than previous studies. Obtained reference points are used for automatic segmentation of the skeleton, which is used for automatic (machine learning) or manual (expert physicians) diagnostics. Preliminary experiments show that an expert system based on machine learning closely mimics the results of expert physicians

DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEM TO SUPPORT DECISION PROCESSES WITH DATA MINING

Traditional techniques of data analysis do not enable the solution of all kind of problems and for that reason they have become insufficient. This caused a new interdisciplinary field of data mining to arise, encompassing both classical statistical, and modern machine learning techniques to support the data analysis and knowledge discovery from data. Data mining methods are powerful in dealing with large quantities of data, but on the other hand they are difficult to master by business users to facilitate decision support. In this paper we introduce our approach to integration of decision support system with data mining. We discuss the role of data mining to facilitate decision support, the use of data mining methods in decision support systems, discuss applied approaches and introduce a data mining decision support system called DMDSS - Data Mining Decision Support System. We also present some obtained results and plans for future development

Computerized segmentation of whole-body bone scintigrams and its use in automated diagnostics

Bone scintigraphy or whole-body bone scan is one of the most common diagnostic procedures in nuclear medicine used in the last 25 years. Pathological conditions, technically poor image resolution and artifacts necessitate that algorithms use su±cient background knowledge of anatomy and spatial relations of bones in order to work satisfactorily. A robust knowledge based methodology for detecting reference points of the main skeletal regions that is simultaneously applied on anterior and posterior whole-body bone scintigrams is presented. Expert knowledge is represented as a set of parameterized rules which are used to support standard image processing algorithms. Our study includes 467 consecutive, non-selected scintigrams, which is, to our knowledge the largest number of images ever used in such studies. Automatic analysis of whole-body bone scans using our segmentation algorithm gives more accurate and reliable results than previous studies. Obtained reference points are used for automatic segmentation of the skeleton, which is applied to automatic (machine learning) or manual (expert physicians) diagnostics. Preliminary experiments show that an expert system based on machine learning closely mimics the results of expert physicians

Application of machine learning for hematological diagnosis

Quick and accurate medical diagnosis is crucial for the successful treatment of a disease. Using machine learning algorithms, we have built two models to predict a hematologic disease, based on laboratory blood test results. In one predictive model, we used all available blood test parameters and in the other a reduced set, which is usually measured upon patient admittance. Both models produced good results, with a prediction accuracy of 0.88 and 0.86, when considering the list of five most probable diseases, and 0.59 and 0.57, when considering only the most probable disease. Models did not differ significantly from each other, which indicates that a reduced set of parameters contains a relevant fingerprint of a disease, expanding the utility of the model for general practitioner's use and indicating that there is more information in the blood test results than physicians recognize. In the clinical test we showed that the accuracy of our predictive models was on a par with the ability of hematology specialists. Our study is the first to show that a machine learning predictive model based on blood tests alone, can be successfully applied to predict hematologic diseases and could open up unprecedented possibilities in medical diagnosis.Comment: 15 pages, 6 figure

COVID-19 diagnosis by routine blood tests using machine learning

Physicians taking care of patients with coronavirus disease (COVID-19) have described different changes in routine blood parameters. However, these changes, hinder them from performing COVID-19 diagnosis. We constructed a machine learning predictive model for COVID-19 diagnosis. The model was based and cross-validated on the routine blood tests of 5,333 patients with various bacterial and viral infections, and 160 COVID-19-positive patients. We selected operational ROC point at a sensitivity of 81.9% and specificity of 97.9%. The cross-validated area under the curve (AUC) was 0.97. The five most useful routine blood parameters for COVID19 diagnosis according to the feature importance scoring of the XGBoost algorithm were MCHC, eosinophil count, albumin, INR, and prothrombin activity percentage. tSNE visualization showed that the blood parameters of the patients with severe COVID-19 course are more like the parameters of bacterial than viral infection. The reported diagnostic accuracy is at least comparable and probably complementary to RT-PCR and chest CT studies. Patients with fever, cough, myalgia, and other symptoms can now have initial routine blood tests assessed by our diagnostic tool. All patients with a positive COVID-19 prediction would then undergo standard RT-PCR studies to confirm the diagnosis. We believe that our results present a significant contribution to improvements in COVID-19 diagnosis.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figures, 2 table

Reporting of side effects during chemotherapy treatment

Zdravljenje s kemoterapijo je povezano s številnimi stranskimi učinki, ki so večinoma blagi in prehodne narave. Objektiviziramo jih glede na 5. izdajo skupnih terminoloških kriterijev za neželene učinke (angl. Common terminology criteria for adverse eventsCTCAE). V zadnjih letih so v klinično uporabo vstopile tudi lestvice za bolnikovo poročanje neželenih učinkov (npr. PRO-CTCAEangl. Patient reported outcomeCommon terminology criteria for adverse events). Raziskave, ki so do sedaj primerjale zdravnikova in bolnikova poročila o stranskih učinkih, so ugotovile, da zdravniki poročajo statistično značilno manj simptomov in nižje graduse kot bolniki. Nadalje je bilo ugotovljeno tudi, da tesnejši nadzor nad stranskimi učinki privede do hitrejše razrešitve težjih oblik le-teh. V pričujočem prispevku predstavljamo rezultate raziskave, ki smo jo izvedli na Onkološkem inštitutu Ljubljana za oceno stopnje pojavnosti ter razlik v beleženju stranskih učinkov s strani zdravnikov in bolnikov. V sklopu raziskave smo ocenjevali tudi kakovost življenja med zdravljenjem s kemoterapijo in doprinos uporabe mobilne aplikacije k učinkovitejšem obvladovanju stranskih učinkov v vsakdanji klinični praksi

A machine learning-based risk stratification model for ventricular tachycardia and heart failure in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy

Background: Machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence are emerging as important components of precision medicine that enhance diagnosis and risk stratification. Risk stratification tools for hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) exist, but they are based on traditional statistical methods. The aim was to develop a novel machine learning risk stratification tool for the prediction of 5-year risk in HCM. The goal was to determine if its predictive accuracy is higher than the accuracy of the state-of-the-art tools. Method: Data from a total of 2302 patients were used. The data were comprised of demographic characteristics, genetic data, clinical investigations, medications, and disease-related events. Four classification models were applied to model the risk level, and their decisions were explained using the SHAP (SHapley Additive exPlanations) method. Unwanted cardiac events were defined as sustained ventricular tachycardia occurrence (VT), heart failure (HF), ICD activation, sudden cardiac death (SCD), cardiac death, and all-cause death. Results: The proposed machine learning approach outperformed the similar existing risk-stratification models for SCD, cardiac death, and all-cause death risk-stratification: it achieved higher AUC by 17%, 9%, and 1%, respectively. The boosted trees achieved the best performing AUC of 0.82. The resulting model most accurately predicts VT, HF, and ICD with AUCs of 0.90, 0.88, and 0.87, respectively. Conclusions: The proposed risk-stratification model demonstrates high accuracy in predicting events in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. The use of a machine-learning risk stratification model may improve patient management, clinical practice, and outcomes in general