An automatic measurement method of spinal curvature on ultrasound coronal images in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis

Wei-wei Jiang; Xin-xin Zhong; Guang-quan Zhou; Qiu Guan; Yong-ping Zheng; Sheng-yong Chen; Wei-wei Jiang; Xin-xin Zhong; Guang-quan Zhou; Qiu Guan; Yong-ping Zheng; Sheng-yong Chen

doi:10.3934/mbe.2020040

Mathematical Biosciences and Engineering

2020, Volume 17, Issue 1: 776-788. doi: 10.3934/mbe.2020040

Previous Article Next Article

Research article Special Issues

An automatic measurement method of spinal curvature on ultrasound coronal images in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis

1.
College of Computer Science & Technology, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou 310014, China
2.
State Key Laboratory of Bioelectronics, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing 210009, China
3.
Interdisciplinary Division of Biomedical Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Kowloon, Hong Kong 999077, China
4.
School of Computer Science and Engineering, Tianjin University of Technology, Tianjin 300384, China

Received: 29 April 2019 Accepted: 07 October 2019 Published: 31 October 2019

This study proposed a new automatic measurement method of spinal curvature on ultrasound coronal images in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS). After preprocessing of Gaussian enhancement, the symmetric information of the image was extracted using the phase congruency. Then bony features were segmented from the soft tissues and background using the greyscale polarity. The morphological methods of image erosion and top-bottom-hat transformation, and geometric moment were utilized to identify the spinous column profile from the transverse processes. Finally, the spine deformity curve was obtained using robust regression. In-vivo experiments based on AIS patients were performed to evaluate the performance of the developed method. The comparison results revealed there was a significant correlation (y = 0.81x, r = 0.86) and good agreement between the new automatic method and the manual measurement method. It can be expected that this novel method may help to provide effective and objective deformity assessment method during the ultrasound scanning for AIS patients.
- automatic measurement,
- scoliosis,
- ultrasound,
- segmentation,
- phase congruency
Citation: Wei-wei Jiang, Xin-xin Zhong, Guang-quan Zhou, Qiu Guan, Yong-ping Zheng, Sheng-yong Chen. An automatic measurement method of spinal curvature on ultrasound coronal images in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis[J]. Mathematical Biosciences and Engineering, 2020, 17(1): 776-788. doi: 10.3934/mbe.2020040

Related Papers:

Abstract

This study proposed a new automatic measurement method of spinal curvature on ultrasound coronal images in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS). After preprocessing of Gaussian enhancement, the symmetric information of the image was extracted using the phase congruency. Then bony features were segmented from the soft tissues and background using the greyscale polarity. The morphological methods of image erosion and top-bottom-hat transformation, and geometric moment were utilized to identify the spinous column profile from the transverse processes. Finally, the spine deformity curve was obtained using robust regression. In-vivo experiments based on AIS patients were performed to evaluate the performance of the developed method. The comparison results revealed there was a significant correlation (y = 0.81x, r = 0.86) and good agreement between the new automatic method and the manual measurement method. It can be expected that this novel method may help to provide effective and objective deformity assessment method during the ultrasound scanning for AIS patients.

References

[1]	S. L. Weinstein, L. A. Dolan, J. G. Wright, et al., Effects of bracing in adolescents with idiopathic scoliosis, N. Engl. J. Med., 369 (2013), 1512-1521. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa1307337
[2]	W. W. Jiang, C. L. K. Cheng, J. P. Y. Cheung, et al., Patterns of coronal curve changes in forward bending posture: A 3D ultrasound study of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis patients, Eur. Spine J., 27 (2018), 2139-2147.
[3]	D. Y. T. Fong, K. M. C. Cheung, Y. W. Wong, et al., A population-based cohort study of 94401 children followed for 10 years exhibits sustained effectiveness of scoliosis screening, Spine J., 15 (2015), 825-833.
[4]	H. Fan, Z. Huang, Q. Wang, et al., Prevalence of idiopathic scoliosis in Chinese schoolchildren, Spine, 41 (2016), 259-264.
[5]	Y. P. Zheng, T. T. Y. Lee, K. L. Lai, et al., A reliability and validity study for Scolioscan: A radiation-free scoliosis assessment system using 3D ultrasound imaging, Scoliosis Spinal Disord., 13 (2016), 13.
[6]	M. Thomsen and R. Abel, Imaging in scoliosis from the orthopaedic surgeon's point of view, Eur. J. Radiol., 58 (2006), 41-47.
[7]	J. Cobb, Outline for the study of scoliosis, Orthop. Surg. Instr. Course Lect. AAOS, 5 (1948), 261-275.
[8]	C. W. J. Cheung, G. Q. Zhou, S. Y. Law, et al., Freehand three-dimensional ultrasound system for assessment of scoliosis, J. Orthop. Transl., 3 (2015), 123-133.
[9]	A. R. Levy, M. S. Goldberg, N. E. Mayo, et al., Reducing the lifetime risk of cancer from spinal radiographs among people with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis, Spine, 21 (1996), 1540-1547.
[10]	C. M. Ronckers, C. E. Land, J. S. Miller, et al., Cancer mortality among women frequently exposed to radiographic exams for spinal disorders, Radiat. Res., 174 (2010), 83-90.
[11]	I. Schmitz-Feuerhake and S. Pflugbeil, 'Lifestyle' and cancer rates in former East and West Germany: The possible contribution of diagnostic radiation exposures, Radiat. Prot. Dosimetry, 147 (2011), 310-313.
[12]	S. M. Presciutti, T. Karukanda and M. Lee, Management decisions for adolescent idiopathic scoliosis significantly affect patient radiatin exposure, Spine J., 14 (2014), 1984-1990.
[13]	S. Suzuki, T. Yamamuro, J. Shikata, et al., Ultrasound measurement of vertebral rotation in idiopathic scoliosis, J. Bone Jt. Surg., 71 (1989), 252-255.
[14]	K. P. Kennelly and M. J. Stokes, Pattern of asymmetry of paraspinal muscle size in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis examined by real-time ultrasound imaging. A preliminary study, Spine, 18 (1993), 913-917.
[15]	Q. H. Huang, J. L. Lan and X. L. Li, Robotic arm based automatic ultrasound scanning for three-dimensional imaging, IEEE. Trans. Ind. Inform, 15 (2019), 1173-1182.
[16]	Q. H. Huang, B. W. Wu, J. L. Lan, et al., Fully automatic three-dimensional ultrasound imaging based on conventional B-scan, IEEE. Trans. Biomed. Circ. Syst., 12 (2018), 426-436.
[17]	Q. H. Huang, Z. Z. Zeng and X. L. Li, 2.5-Dimensional Extended Field-of-View Ultrasound, IEEE Trans. Med. Imaging., 37 (2018), 851-859.
[18]	Q. H. Huang and Z. Z. Zeng, A review on real-time 3D ultrasound imaging technology, Biomed. Res. Int., 2017 (2017), 1-20.
[19]	W. Chen, E. H. M. Lou and L. H. Le, Using ultrasound imaging to identify landmarks in vertebra models to assess spinal deformity, 2011 Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, 8495-8498. Available from: https://ieeexplore_ieee.gg363.site/abstract/document/6092096.
[20]	Q. H. Huang, Q. F. Deng, L. Li, et al., Scoliotic imaging with a novel double-sweep 2.5-dimensional extended field-of-view ultrasound, IEEE Trans. Ultrason. Ferroelectr. Freq. Control, 8 (2019), 1304-1315.
[21]	T. Ungi, F. King, M. Kempston, et al., Spinal curvature measurement by tracked ultrasound snapshots, Ultrasound Med. Biol., 40 (2014), 447-454. doi: 10.1016/j.ultrasmedbio.2013.09.021
[22]	C. W. J. Cheung, G. Q. Zhou, S. Y. Law, et al., Ultrasound volume projection imaging for assessment of scoliosis, IEEE Trans. Med. Imaging, 34 (2015), 1760-1768.
[23]	W. W. Jiang, G. Q. Zhou, K. L. Lai, et al., A fast 3-D ultrasound projection imaging method for scoliosis assessment, Math. Biosci. Eng., 16 (2019), 1067-1081.
[24]	G. Q. Zhou, W. W. Jiang, K. L. Lai, et al., Automatic measurement of spine curvature on 3-D ultrasound volume projection image with phase features, IEEE Trans. Med. Imaging, 36 (2017), 1250-1262.
[25]	M. Young, D. L. Hill, R. Zheng, et al., Reliability and accuracy of ultrasound measurements with and without the aid of previous radiographs in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS), Eur. Spine J., 24 (2015), 1427-1433.
[26]	M. Felsberg and G. Sommer, The monogenic signal, IEEE Trans. Signal Process., 49 (2001), 3136-3144.
[27]	L. Zhang, L. Zhang, X. Q. Mou, et al., FSIM, A Feature Similarity Index for Image Quality Assessment, IEEE Trans. Image Process., 20 (2011), 2378-2386.
[28]	P. Kovesi, Phase congruency: A low-level image invariant, Psychol. Res., 64 (2000), 136-148.

Reader Comments

Your name:*

Email:*
© 2020 the Author(s), licensee AIMS Press. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0)