Automatic Discoid Lateral Meniscus Diagnosis from Radiographs Based on Image Processing Tools and Machine Learning.

Xibai Li,Xubo Yang,Yan Sun,Chunxi Yang,Haoyu Wu,Juyang Jiao,Ayush Dogra

doi:10.1155/2021/6662664

Xibai Li, Xubo Yang + Show 5 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1155/2021/6662664

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Abstract

The aim of the present study is to build a software implementation of a previous study and to diagnose discoid lateral menisci on knee joint radiograph images. A total of 160 images from normal individuals and patients who were diagnosed with discoid lateral menisci were included. Our software implementation includes two parts: preprocessing and measurement. In the first phase, the whole radiograph image was analyzed to obtain basic information about the patient. Machine learning was used to segment the knee joint from the original radiograph image. Image enhancement and denoising tools were used to strengthen the image and remove noise. In the second phase, edge detection was used to quantify important features in the image. A specific algorithm was designed to build a model of the knee joint and measure the parameters. Of the test images, 99.65% were segmented correctly. Furthermore, 97.5% of the tested images were segmented correctly and their parameters were measured successfully. There was no significant difference between manual and automatic measurements in the discoid (P=0.28) and control groups (P=0.15). The mean and standard deviations of the ratio of lateral joint space distance to the height of the lateral tibial spine were compared with the results of manual measurement. The software performed well on raw radiographs, showing a satisfying success rate and robustness. Thus, it is possible to diagnose discoid lateral menisci on radiographs with the help of radiograph-image-analyzing software (BM3D, etc.) and artificial intelligence-related tools (YOLOv3). The results of this study can help build a joint database that contains data from patients and thus can play a role in the diagnosis of discoid lateral menisci and other knee joint diseases in the future.

Highlights

Discoid lateral meniscus is an anatomic variant in the knee exhibiting a greater area of the tibial plateau than the normal meniscus
Not every primary hospital may have the capabilities to perform magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and even in large general hospitals where MRI is a common tool for diagnosis, patients still suffer from the inconvenience of waiting to make reservations
Ese factors all contribute to the need to diagnose discoid lateral meniscus on radiographs, which are more popular and convenient and have fewer side effects compared to MRI

Summary

Introduction

Discoid lateral meniscus is an anatomic variant in the knee exhibiting a greater area of the tibial plateau than the normal meniscus. According to studies, having a discoid lateral meniscus increases the possibility of meniscal tears, which leads to symptoms such as pain, clicking, swelling, articular block, limited knee extension, meniscal instability, and the formation of meniscal cysts [1]. Discoid lateral meniscus is relatively common in Asia, and the diagnosis of discoid lateral meniscus needs to take the patient’s symptoms and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) results into consideration. Ese factors all contribute to the need to diagnose discoid lateral meniscus on radiographs, which are more popular and convenient and have fewer side effects compared to MRI. Several geometric distances and angles were measured from the anteroposterior view of plain knee radiographs, as shown, to identify significant differences between normal Several geometric distances and angles were measured from the anteroposterior view of plain knee radiographs, as shown in Figure 1, to identify significant differences between normal

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