Spiral-CT-based assessment of tracheal stenoses using 3-D-skeletonization

• Published in: IEEE transactions on medical imaging Vol. 21; no. 3; pp. 263 - 273
• Main Authors: Sorantin, E., Halmai, C., Erdohelyi, B., Palagyi, K., Nyul, L.G., Olle, K., Geiger, B., Lindbichler, F., Friedrich, G., Kiesler, K.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York, NY IEEE 01.03.2002; Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers; The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE)
• Subjects: Accuracy; Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Algorithms; Assessments; Biological and medical sciences; Biomedical measurements; Child; Child, Preschool; Computation; Computed tomography; Computerized, statistical medical data processing and models in biomedicine; Control equipment; Correlation theory; Cross sections; Diseases; Endoscopy; Feature extraction; Fuzzy Logic; General aspects. Methods; Hospitals; Humans; Image processing; Image segmentation; Imaging phantoms; Imaging, Three-Dimensional - methods; Infant; Investigative techniques, diagnostic techniques (general aspects); Magnetic resonance imaging; Medical computing; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Patients; Phantoms, Imaging; Precision engineering; Radiodiagnosis. Nmr imagery. Nmr spectrometry; Radiology; Reproducibility of Results; Respiratory system; Scanning; Sensitivity and Specificity; Shape; Spirals; Three dimensional; Tomography; Tomography, Spiral Computed - instrumentation; Tomography, Spiral Computed - methods; Tracheal Stenosis - diagnostic imaging; Human; Diseases of the trachea; 3D imaging; Radiodiagnosis; Image processing; Respiratory disease; Stenosis; Spiral; Biomedical data processing; Signal processing; Medical imagery; Computerized axial tomography; Computing method; Trachea; Computer aid; Pattern extraction; Biomedical engineering
• ISSN: 0278-0062; 1558-254X
• DOI: 10.1109/42.996344

Demonstration of a technique for three-dimensional (3-D) assessment of tracheal-stenoses, regarding site, length and degree, based on spiral computed tomography (S-CT). S-CT scanning and automated segmentation of the laryngo-tracheal tract (LTT) was followed by the extraction of the LTT medial axis using a skeletonization algorithm. Orthogonal to the medial axis the LTT 3-D cross-sectional profile was computed and presented as line charts, where degree and length was obtained. Values for both parameters were compared between 36 patients and 18 normal controls separately. Accuracy and precision was derived from 17 phantom studies. Average degree and length of tracheal stenoses was found to be 60.5% and 4.32 cm in patients compared with minor caliber changes of 8.8% and 2.31 cm in normal controls (p /spl Lt/ 0.0001). For the phantoms an excellent correlation between the true and computed 3-D cross-sectional profile was found (p /spl Lt/ 0.005) and an accuracy for length and degree measurements of 2.14 mm and 2.53% respectively could be determined. The corresponding figures for the precision were found to be 0.92 mm and 2.56%. LTT 3-D cross-sectional profiles permit objective, accurate and precise assessment of LTT caliber changes. Minor LTT caliber changes can be observed even in normals and, in case of an otherwise normal S-CT study, can be regarded as artifacts.