Generation of Vertebra Micro-CT-like Image from MDCT: A Deep-Learning-Based Image Enhancement Approach.

Dan Jin,Chunjie Wang,Mengze Zhang,Huishu Yuan,Qingqing Zhao,Han Zheng

doi:10.3390/tomography7040064

Abstract

This paper proposes a deep-learning-based image enhancement approach that can generate high-resolution micro-CT-like images from multidetector computed tomography (MDCT). A total of 12,500 MDCT and micro-CT image pairs were obtained from 25 vertebral specimens. Then, a pix2pixHD model was trained and evaluated using the structural similarity index measure (SSIM) and Fréchet inception distance (FID). We performed subjective assessments of the micro-CT-like images based on five aspects. Micro-CT and micro-CT-like image-derived trabecular bone microstructures were compared, and the underlying correlations were analyzed. The results showed that the pix2pixHD method (SSIM, 0.804 ± 0.037 and FID, 43.598 ± 9.108) outperformed the two control methods (pix2pix and CRN) in enhancing MDCT images (p < 0.05). According to the subjective assessment, the pix2pixHD-derived micro-CT-like images showed no significant difference from the micro-CT images in terms of contrast and shadow (p > 0.05) but demonstrated slightly lower noise, sharpness and trabecular bone texture (p < 0.05). Compared with the trabecular microstructure parameters of micro-CT images, those of pix2pixHD-derived micro-CT-like images showed no significant differences in bone volume fraction (BV/TV) (p > 0.05) and significant correlations in trabecular thickness (Tb.Th) and trabecular spacing (Tb.Sp) (Tb.Th, R = 0.90, p < 0.05; Tb.Sp, R = 0.88, p < 0.05). The proposed method can enhance the resolution of MDCT and obtain micro-CT-like images, which may provide new diagnostic criteria and a predictive basis for osteoporosis and related fractures.

Highlights

The spine, which consists of vertebrae, is the main load-bearing component of the body, and its skeletal status influences a person’s quality of life
Clinical diagnosis of osteoporosis and assessment of fracture risk are mainly based on the areal bone mineral density (BMD) of trabecular bone in the spine and/or hip observed using dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) [1]
We found that that the images were from the same vertebra, the differences between the images of dif- slices the images were from the same vertebra, the differences between the images of different ferent slices were substantially large

Summary

Introduction

The spine, which consists of vertebrae, is the main load-bearing component of the body, and its skeletal status influences a person’s quality of life. Clinical diagnosis of osteoporosis and assessment of fracture risk are mainly based on the areal bone mineral density (BMD) of trabecular bone in the spine and/or hip observed using dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) [1]. Researchers found that concomitant deterioration of the bone structure, especially structural changes in trabecular bone, occurs with the loss of bone mass [3]. This deterioration and loss of bone mass both reduces bone quality and increases fracture susceptibility, indicating that bone structure plays a key role in bone strength

Methods

Discussion

Conclusion