Methods for segmentation of rheumatoid arthritis bone erosions in high-resolution peripheral quantitative computed tomography (HR-pQCT)

Figueiredo CP, Kleyer A, Simon D, Stemmler F, d'Oliveira I, Weißenfels A, Museyko O, Friedberger A, Hueber A, Haschka J, Englbrecht M, Pereira RM, Rech J, Schett G, Engelke K (2017)

Publication Type: Journal article

Publication year: 2017

Journal

Seminars in Arthritis and Rheumatism WB Saunders

DOI: 10.1016/j.semarthrit.2017.09.011

Abstract

The comparison between different techniques to quantify the 3-dimensional size of inflammatory bone erosions in rheumatoid arthritis(RA) patients.Anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide antibody(ACPA) positive RA patients received high-resolution peripheral quantitative computed tomography (HR-pQCT) scans of the metacarpophalangeal joints (MCP). Erosions were measured by three different segmentation techniques: (1) manual method with calculation by half-ellipsoid formula, (2) semi-automated modified Evaluation Script for Erosions (mESE), and (3) semi-automated Medical Image Analysis Framework (MIAF) software. Bland & Altman plots were used to describe agreement between methods. Furthermore, shape of erosions was classified as regular or irregular and then compared to the sphericity obtained by MIAF.A total of 76 erosions from 65 RA patients (46 females/19 males), median age 57 years, median disease duration 6.1 years and median disease activity score 28 of 2.8 units were analyzed. While mESE and MIAF showed good agreement in the measurement of erosion size, the manual method with calculation by half-ellipsoid formula underestimated erosions size, particularly with larger erosions. Accurate segmentation is particularly important in larger erosions, which are irregularly shaped. In all three segmentation techniques irregular erosions were larger in size than regular erosions (MIAF: 19.7 vs. 3.4mm(3); mESE: 15.5 vs. 2.3mm(3); manual = 7.2 vs. 1.52mm(3); all p < 0.001). In accordance, sphericity of erosions measured by MIAF significantly decreased with their size (p < 0.001).MIAF and mESE allow segmentation of inflammatory bone erosions in RA patients with excellent inter reader reliability. They allow calculating erosion volume independent of erosion shape and therefore provide an attractive tool to quantify structural damage in individual joints of RA patients.

Authors with CRIS profile

Arnd Kleyer Department of Medicine 3 – Rheumatology and Immunology Dominic Simon Medizinische Fakultät Anja Weißenfels Lehrstuhl für Medizinische Physik und Mikrogewebetechnik Oleg Museyko Lehrstuhl für Medizinische Physik und Mikrogewebetechnik Andreas Friedberger Lehrstuhl für Medizinische Physik und Mikrogewebetechnik Axel Hueber Department of Medicine 3 – Rheumatology and Immunology Matthias Englbrecht Lehrstuhl für Innere Medizin III Georg Schett Lehrstuhl für Innere Medizin III Klaus Engelke Lehrstuhl für Medizinische Physik und Mikrogewebetechnik

Involved external institutions

University of São Paulo / Universidade de São Paulo (USP) BR Brazil (BR)

How to cite

APA:

Figueiredo, C.P., Kleyer, A., Simon, D., Stemmler, F., d'Oliveira, I., Weißenfels, A.,... Engelke, K. (2017). Methods for segmentation of rheumatoid arthritis bone erosions in high-resolution peripheral quantitative computed tomography (HR-pQCT). Seminars in Arthritis and Rheumatism. https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.semarthrit.2017.09.011

MLA:

Figueiredo, Camille P., et al. "Methods for segmentation of rheumatoid arthritis bone erosions in high-resolution peripheral quantitative computed tomography (HR-pQCT)." Seminars in Arthritis and Rheumatism (2017).

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