Biomedical subjects

O Weinheimer

Publications and source records attributed to O Weinheimer.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

[Quantification of pulmonary emphysema in multislice-CT using different software tools].

PURPOSE: The data records of thin-section MSCT of the lung with approx. 300 images are difficult to use in manual evaluation. A computer-assisted pre-diagnosis can help with reporting. Furthermore, post-processing techniques, for instance, for quantification of emphysema on the basis of three-dimensional anatomical information might be improved and the workflow might be further automated. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The results of 4 programs (Pulmo, Volume, YACTA and PulmoFUNC) for the quantitative analysis of emphysema (lung and emphysema volume, mean lung density and emphysema index) of 30 consecutive thin-section MSCT datasets with different emphysema severity levels were compared. The classification result of the YACTA program for different types of emphysema was also analyzed. RESULTS: Pulmo and Volume have a median operating time of 105 and 59 minutes respectively due to the necessity for extensive manual correction of the lung segmentation. The programs PulmoFUNC and YACTA, which are automated to a large extent, have a median runtime of 26 and 16 minutes, respectively. The evaluation with Pulmo and Volume using 2 different datasets resulted in implausible values. PulmoFUNC crashed with 2 other datasets in a reproducible manner. Only with YACTA could all graphic datasets be evaluated. The lung volume, emphysema volume, emphysema index and mean lung density determined by YACTA and PulmoFUNC are significantly larger than the corresponding values of Volume and Pulmo (differences: Volume: 119 cm(3)/65 cm(3)/1 %/17 HU, Pulmo: 60 cm(3)/96 cm(3)/1 %/37 HU). Classification of the emphysema type was in agreement with that of the radiologist in 26 panlobular cases, in 22 paraseptalen cases and in 15 centrilobular emphysema cases. CONCLUSION: The substantial expenditure of time obstructs the employment of quantitative emphysema analysis in the clinical routine. The results of YACTA and PulmoFUNC are affected by the dedicated exclusion of the tracheobronchial system. These fully automatic tools enable not only fast quantification without manual interaction, but also a reproducible measurement without user dependence.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2005

Software for automated application of a reference-based method for a posteriori determination of the effective radiographic imaging geometry.

OBJECTIVES: Presentation and validation of software developed for automated and accurate application of a reference-based algorithm (reference sphere method: RSM) inferring the effective imaging geometry from quantitative radiographic image analysis. METHODS: The software uses modern pattern recognition and computer vision algorithms adapted for the particular application of automated detection of the reference sphere shadows (ellipses) with subpixel accuracy. It applies the RSM algorithm to the shadows detected, thereby providing three-dimensional Cartesian coordinates of the spheres. If the three sphere centres do not lie on one line, they uniquely determine the imaging geometry. Accuracy of the computed coordinates is investigated in a set of 28 charge-coupled device (CCD)-based radiographs of two human mandible segments produced on an optical bench. Each specimen contained three reference spheres (two different radii r1=1.5 mm, r2=2.5 mm). True sphere coordinates were assessed with a manually operated calliper. Software accuracy was investigated for a weighted and unweighted algebraic ellipse-fitting algorithm. RESULTS: The critical depth- (z-) coordinates revealed mean absolute errors ranging between 1.1+/-0.7 mm (unweighted version; r=2.5 mm) and 1.4+/-1.4 mm (weighted version, r=2.5 mm), corresponding to mean relative errors between 5% and 6%. Outliers resulted from complete circular dense structure superimposition and one obviously deformed reference sphere. CONCLUSIONS: The software provides information fundamentally important for the image formation and geometric image registration, which is a crucial step for three-dimensional reconstruction from > or =2 two-dimensional views.

Algorithms↗

PubMed2004

[Fully automatic detection and quantification of emphysema on thin section MD-CT of the chest by a new and dedicated software].

PURPOSE: Introduction of a novel software tool (YACTA -- yet another CT analyzer) for detection and quantification of pulmonary emphysema in thin-slice chest MDCT data sets. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Consisting of grey-level threshold-based algorithms (e. g., region-growing), expert rules and morphological image postprocessing YACTA segments the tracheobronchial tree prior to the detection and quantification of pulmonary emphysema. In addition to general parameters, such as the mean lung density (MLD) and the emphysema index (EI -- also described as pixel index PI), the previously described bullae index (BI) is transformed into a three-dimensional parameter for a morphological description of emphysema. A first evaluation of chest MDCT data sets of 11 patients was performed as well as a comparison of MLD, lung volume (LV), emphysema volume (EV) and PI calculated with two established commercial tools of Siemens Medical Solutions (Volume and Pulmo). Furthermore, the BI was calculated with YACTA. RESULTS: YACTA processed the image data without manual interaction and demonstrated more user-comfort than Volume and Pulmo software, which require manual correction especially for lung segmentation at the hilar regions to separate central airways from lung parenchyma. MLD, LV, and EV values calculated with YACTA were systematically higher (Pulmo: + 50 HU/+ 597 ml/+ 159 ml; Volume: + 32 HU/+ 110 ml/+ 155 ml). Different segmentation algorithms are responsible for this: YACTA includes areas not assessed by mere threshold-based techniques. Constantly lowered LV values of Pulmo are caused by a missing dilatation algorithm. The error correction as a special feature of YACTA results in increased emphysema volumes and indices. The segmentation of the tracheobronchial tree lowers the part of airways falsely classified as emphysema. CONCLUSION: The new developed software shows higher user comfort as established by semi-automated tools. RESULTS: of LV, EV, MLD and PI are comparable or moderately different. Automatic calculation of a BI is possible, providing information about bullous morphology of pulmonary emphysema. Further studies are necessary to correlate data with clinical or pathological parameters.

Adult↗