Automated Identification and Localization of the Inferior Vena Cava Using Ultrasound: An Animal Study.

Automated Identification and Localization of the Inferior Vena Cava Using Ultrasound: An Animal Study.
Ultrason Imaging. 2018 Jul;40(4):232-244
Authors: Chen J, Li J, Ding X, Chang C, Wang X, Ta D
Abstract
Ultrasound measurement of the inferior vena cava (IVC) is widely implemented in the clinic. However, the process is time consuming and labor intensive, because the IVC diameter is continuously changing with respiration. In addition, artificial errors and intra-operator variations are always considerable, making the measurement inconsistent. Research efforts were recently devoted to developing semiautomated methods. But most required an initial identification of the IVC manually. As a first step toward fully automated IVC measurement, in this paper, we present an intelligent technique for automated IVC identification and localization. Forty-eight ultrasound data sets were collected from eight pigs, each of which included two frames in B-mode and color mode (C-mode) collected at the inspiration, and two cine loops in B-mode and C-mode. Static and dynamic automation algorithms were applied to the data sets for identifying and localizing the IVC. The results were evaluated by comparing with the manual measurement of experienced clinicians. The automated approaches successfully identified the IVC in 47 cases (success rate: 97.9%). The automated localization of the IVC is close to the manual counterpart, with the difference within one di...

Source: Ultrasonic Imaging - June 7, 2018 Category: Radiology Tags: Ultrason Imaging Source Type: research