Fully Automated Enhanced Tumor Compartmentalization: Man vs. Machine Reloaded.

OBJECTIVE: Comparison of a fully-automated segmentation method that uses compartmental volume information to a semi-automatic user-guided and FDA-approved segmentation technique. METHODS: Nineteen patients with a recently diagnosed and histologically confirmed glioblastoma (GBM) were included and MR images were acquired with a 1.5 T MR scanner. Manual segmentation for volumetric analyses was performed using the open source software 3D Slicer version 4.2.2.3 (www.slicer.org). Semi-automatic segmentation was done by four independent neurosurgeons and neuroradiologists using the computer-assisted segmentation tool SmartBrush® (referred to as SB), a semi-automatic user-guided and FDA-approved tumor-outlining program that uses contour expansion. Fully automatic segmentations were performed with the Brain Tumor Image Analysis (BraTumIA, referred to as BT) software. We compared manual (ground truth, referred to as GT), computer-assisted (SB) and fully-automated (BT) segmentations with regard to: (1) products of two maximum diameters for 2D measurements, (2) the Dice coefficient, (3) the positive predictive value, (4) the sensitivity and (5) the volume error. RESULTS: Segmentations by the four expert raters resulted in a mean Dice coefficient between 0.72 and 0.77 using SB. BT achieved a mean Dice coefficient of 0.68. Significant differences were found for intermodal (BT vs. SB) and for intramodal (four SB expert raters) performances. The BT and SB segmentations of the contrast-enhancing volumes achieved a high correlation with the GT. Pearson correlation was 0.8 for BT; however, there were a few discrepancies between raters (BT and SB 1 only). Additional non-enhancing tumor tissue extending the SB volumes was found with BT in 16/19 cases. The clinically motivated sum of products of diameters measure (SPD) revealed neither significant intermodal nor intramodal variations. The analysis time for the four expert raters was faster (1 minute and 47 seconds to 3 minutes and 39 seconds) than with BT (5 minutes). CONCLUSION: BT and SB provide comparable segmentation results in a clinical setting. SB provided similar SPD measures to BT and GT, but differed in the volume analysis in one of the four clinical raters. A major strength of BT may its independence from human interactions, it can thus be employed to handle large datasets and to associate tumor volumes with clinical and/or molecular datasets ("-omics") as well as for clinical analyses of brain tumor compartment volumes as baseline outcome parameters. Due to its multi-compartment segmentation it may provide information about GBM subcompartment compositions that may be subjected to clinical studies to investigate the delineation of the target volumes for adjuvant therapies in the future.

Evaluation of new radiolucent polymer headholder pins for use in intraoperative computed tomography.

OBJECT: With the introduction of intraoperative CT (iCT) scanning, neurosurgeons can now obtain images of the brain during surgery, offering the possibility of intraoperative resection control and monitoring of potential intraoperative complications. The combination of iCT with neuronavigation makes it possible to update the reference scans intraoperatively when necessary. However, the headholder pins normally used for iCT scanning still show artifacts. In the present study, new polymer pins, producing nearly no artifacts in laboratory tests, are compared with the usual pins with regard to their mechanical and artifact behavior to evaluate their potential use in the clinical routine. METHODS: Pins made of different materials (titanium, Macor, silicon nitride, zirconium oxide, sapphire, polyetheretherketone, and polyparaphenylene copolymer) were used for the fixation of 10 cadaveric heads. Special force sensors measured the fixation pressure of the pins, and histological analysis revealed the penetration depth. Computed tomography scans of a head phantom, fixed with the different pins, were obtained to reveal artifact behavior. RESULTS: All pins were biocompatible. Pins did not differ significantly in fixation pressures and mechanical behavior. Penetration depths were comparable (maximum 1.4 mm) and did not cause opening of the diploe. Polymer pins made of polyparaphenylene showed the best results in artifact behavior in CT scans. CONCLUSIONS: The authors' results demonstrate that the new polymer pins are comparable in their mechanical behavior to the usual pins but superior in artifact behavior. Therefore, their use in the clinical routine of iCT scanning will be beneficial for the surgeon.