Automatic lung segmentation in COVID-19 patients: Impact on quantitative computed tomography analysis.

PURPOSE: To assess the impact of lung segmentation accuracy in an automatic pipeline for quantitative analysis of CT images. METHODS: Four different platforms for automatic lung segmentation based on convolutional neural network (CNN), region-growing technique and atlas-based algorithm were considered. The platforms were tested using CT images of 55 COVID-19 patients with severe lung impairment. Four radiologists assessed the segmentations using a 5-point qualitative score (QS). For each CT series, a manually revised reference segmentation (RS) was obtained. Histogram-based quantitative metrics (QM) were calculated from CT histogram using lung segmentationsfrom all platforms and RS. Dice index (DI) and differences of QMs (ΔQMs) were calculated between RS and other segmentations. RESULTS: Highest QS and lower ΔQMs values were associated to the CNN algorithm. However, only 45% CNN segmentations were judged to need no or only minimal corrections, and in only 17 cases (31%), automatic segmentations provided RS without manual corrections. Median values of the DI for the four algorithms ranged from 0.993 to 0.904. Significant differences for all QMs calculated between automatic segmentations and RS were found both when data were pooled together and stratified according to QS, indicating a relationship between qualitative and quantitative measurements. The most unstable QM was the histogram 90th percentile, with median ΔQMs values ranging from 10HU and 158HU between different algorithms. CONCLUSIONS: None of tested algorithms provided fully reliable segmentation. Segmentation accuracy impacts differently on different quantitative metrics, and each of them should be individually evaluated according to the purpose of subsequent analyses.

A patient-specific approach for quantitative and automatic analysis of computed tomography images in lung disease: Application to COVID-19 patients.

PURPOSE: Quantitative metrics in lung computed tomography (CT) images have been widely used, often without a clear connection with physiology. This work proposes a patient-independent model for the estimation of well-aerated volume of lungs in CT images (WAVE). METHODS: A Gaussian fit, with mean (Mu.f) and width (Sigma.f) values, was applied to the lower CT histogram data points of the lung to provide the estimation of the well-aerated lung volume (WAVE.f). Independence from CT reconstruction parameters and respiratory cycle was analysed using healthy lung CT images and 4DCT acquisitions. The Gaussian metrics and first order radiomic features calculated for a third cohort of COVID-19 patients were compared with those relative to healthy lungs. Each lung was further segmented in 24 subregions and a new biomarker derived from Gaussian fit parameter Mu.f was proposed to represent the local density changes. RESULTS: WAVE.f resulted independent from the respiratory motion in 80% of the cases. Differences of 1%, 2% and up to 14% resulted comparing a moderate iterative strength and FBP algorithm, 1 and 3 mm of slice thickness and different reconstruction kernel. Healthy subjects were significantly different from COVID-19 patients for all the metrics calculated. Graphical representation of the local biomarker provides spatial and quantitative information in a single 2D picture. CONCLUSIONS: Unlike other metrics based on fixed histogram thresholds, this model is able to consider the inter- and intra-subject variability. In addition, it defines a local biomarker to quantify the severity of the disease, independently of the observer.

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) and OCT angiography allow early identification of sickle cell maculopathy in children and correlate it with systemic risk factors.

PURPOSE: To determine the presence of sickle cell retinopathy and maculopathy and to identify associations between markers of hemolysis and systemic and ocular manifestations in children affected by sickle cell disease. METHODS: Eighteen children with sickle cell disease, aged 5-16 years, underwent complete eye examination including best-corrected visual acuity, slit-lamp biomicroscopy, ophthalmoscopy after pharmacological mydriasis, spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT), and optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA). Blood test results and clinical history information were collected for each child, including fetal hemoglobin (HbF), hemoglobin (Hb), hematocrit (Htc), mean corpuscular volume (MCV), mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC), reticulocytes percentage (%ret), lactic dehydrogenase (LDH), total and direct bilirubin, glomerular filtration rate, number of painful crises, acute chest syndromes, and splenic sequestration. Therapeutic regimen and transfusion therapy were also evaluated. RESULTS: Sixteen of 36 eyes (44.4%) had non-proliferative sickle cell retinopathy on ophthalmoscopic evaluation. No patients had proliferative sickle cell retinopathy. In 13 of 36 eyes (36.1%), SD-OCT and OCTA detected signs of sickle cell maculopathy. Nine eyes (25%) presented sickle cell retinopathy and maculopathy, 7 eyes (19.4%) sickle cell retinopathy alone, and 4 eyes (11.1%) sickle cell maculopathy alone. A statistically significant association was found between sickle cell retinopathy; lower levels of HbF, Hb, and Htc; and higher MCV and percentage of reticulocytes. Sickle cell maculopathy was associated with lower values of H and Htc and higher levels of reticulocytes and total bilirubin. CONCLUSIONS: We identified early signs of sickle cell retinopathy and maculopathy in a pediatric population with SD-OCT and OCTA. These two retinal complications were more frequent in children with higher hemolytic rates.