A fully automated multi-modal computer aided diagnosis approach to coronary calcium scoring of MSCT images

Jing Wu; Gordon Ferns; John Giles; Emma Lewis

doi:10.1117/12.904053

23 February 2012 A fully automated multi-modal computer aided diagnosis approach to coronary calcium scoring of MSCT images

Jing Wu, Gordon Ferns, John Giles, Emma Lewis

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 8315, Medical Imaging 2012: Computer-Aided Diagnosis; 83152I (2012) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.904053
Event: SPIE Medical Imaging, 2012, San Diego, California, United States

Abstract

Inter- and intra- observer variability is a problem often faced when an expert or observer is tasked with assessing the severity of a disease. This issue is keenly felt in coronary calcium scoring of patients suffering from atherosclerosis where in clinical practice, the observer must identify firstly the presence, followed by the location of candidate calcified plaques found within the coronary arteries that may prevent oxygenated blood flow to the heart muscle. However, it can be difficult for a human observer to differentiate calcified plaques that are located in the coronary arteries from those found in surrounding anatomy such as the mitral valve or pericardium. In addition to the benefits to scoring accuracy, the use of fast, low dose multi-slice CT imaging to perform the cardiac scan is capable of acquiring the entire heart within a single breath hold. Thus exposing the patient to lower radiation dose, which for a progressive disease such as atherosclerosis where multiple scans may be required, is beneficial to their health. Presented here is a fully automated method for calcium scoring using both the traditional Agatston method, as well as the volume scoring method. Elimination of the unwanted regions of the cardiac image slices such as lungs, ribs, and vertebrae is carried out using adaptive heart isolation. Such regions cannot contain calcified plaques but can be of a similar intensity and their removal will aid detection. Removal of both the ascending and descending aortas, as they contain clinical insignificant plaques, is necessary before the final calcium scores are calculated and examined against ground truth scores of three averaged expert observer results. The results presented here are intended to show the feasibility and requirement for an automated scoring method to reduce the subjectivity and reproducibility error inherent with manual clinical calcium scoring.

Citation Download Citation

Jing Wu, Gordon Ferns, John Giles, and Emma Lewis "A fully automated multi-modal computer aided diagnosis approach to coronary calcium scoring of MSCT images", Proc. SPIE 8315, Medical Imaging 2012: Computer-Aided Diagnosis, 83152I (23 February 2012); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.904053

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