Reproducibility Of Volume Measurements Research Articles

Morphological and volumetric analysis of left atrial appendage and left atrium: cardiac computed tomography-based reproducibility assessment.

ObjectivesLeft atrial appendage (LAA) dilatation and morphology may influence an individual's risk for intracardiac thrombi and ischemic stroke. LAA size and morphology can be evaluated using cardiac computed tomography (cCT). The present study evaluated the reproducibility of LAA volume and morphology assessments.MethodsA total of 149 patients (47 females; mean age 60.9±10.6 years) with suspected cardioembolic stroke/transient ischemic attack underwent cCT. Image quality was rated based on four categories. Ten patients were selected from each image quality category (N = 40) for volumetric reproducibility analysis by two individual readers. LAA and left atrium (LA) volume were measured in both two-chamber (2CV) and transversal view (TV) orientation. Intertechnique reproducibility was assessed between 2CV and TV (200 measurement pairs). LAA morphology (A = Cactus, B = ChickenWing, C = WindSock, D = CauliFlower), LAA opening height, number of LAA lobes, trabeculation, and orientation of the LAA tip was analysed in all study subjects by three individual readers (447 interobserver measurement pairs). The reproducibility of volume measurements was assessed by intra-class correlation (ICC) and the reproducibility of LAA morphology assessments by Cohen's kappa.ResultsThe intra-observer and interobserver reproducibility of LAA and LA volume measurements was excellent (ICCs>0.9). The LAA (ICC = 0.954) and LA (ICC = 0.945) volume measurements were comparable between 2CV and TV. Morphological classification (ĸ = 0.24) and assessments of LAA opening height (ĸ = 0.1), number of LAA lobes (ĸ = 0.16), trabeculation (ĸ = 0.15), and orientation of the LAA tip (ĸ = 0.37) was only slightly to fairly reproducible.ConclusionsLA and LAA volume measurements on cCT provide excellent reproducibility, whereas visual assessment of LAA morphological features is challenging and results in unsatisfactory agreement between readers.

Relation Between Total Renal Volume and Renal Function: Usefulness of 3D Sonographic Measurements With a Matrix Array Transducer

The aims of this study were to evaluate the reproducibility of 3D sonography with a matrix array transducer as a means of measuring renal volume and to investigate correlations between renal volume and renal function. One hundred twenty subjects (20 consecutively registered patients with one of the five stages of chronic renal disease and 20 healthy volunteers [stage 0 renal function]) were enrolled. Individual renal volume was determined by two independent observers using 2D sonographic and 3D matrix array transducer sonographic data. The reproducibility of volume measurement was evaluated for both of these methods. After total renal volume was normalized to body surface area, correlations between normalized total renal volume and estimated glomerular filtration rate (GFR) were evaluated. Differences in normalized total renal volume related to stage of renal function also were evaluated. The reproducibility of 3D sonographic measurements obtained with a matrix array transducer was greater than that of 2D sonographic measurements. The correlation between normalized total renal volume obtained with matrix array transducer 3D sonography and estimated GFR for two observers (r = 0.809 and 0.813; p < 0.001) was better than that between normalized total renal volume obtained with 2D sonography and estimated GFR (r = 0.696 and 0.715; p < 0.001). The mean normalized total renal volumes obtained with matrix array transducer 3D sonography in stages 0 and 1 were significantly larger than those in other stages (p < 0.001). The mean normalized total renal volume in stage 5 disease was significantly smaller than the volumes in the other stages (p < 0.001). Three-dimensional sonography with a matrix array transducer is a reliable means of measuring renal volume during evaluations of patients with reduced renal function.

Recommendations for evaluation of the severity of native valvular regurgitation with two-dimensional and doppler echocardiography

Recommendations for evaluation of the severity of native valvular regurgitation with two-dimensional and doppler echocardiography

Reproducibility of volumetric quantification in intravascular ultrasound images

The reproducibility of volume measurements in intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) images derived from separate pull-back manoeuvres remains to be elucidated. Patients ( n = 23) were imaged with IVUS prior to (first series) and following percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA) (second series). In 15 patients, one matched vascular segment (3–4 cm in length), not subjected to PTA, was used for analysis of lumen, vessel and plaque volume using an automated contour analysis system. Volume measurements assessed by two independent observers and in the two separate series were compared. Interobserver differences in volume measurements were small (≤ 0.4%), with low coefficients of variation (≤ 1.7%) and high correlation coefficients ( r = 1.00). Differences in volume measurements obtained in the two separate series were small (≤ 2.6%), with low coefficients of variation (≤ 8.6%) and high correlation coefficients ( r = 0.97–0.99). In conclusion, volume measurements derived from IVUS images are highly reproducible. Therefore, IVUS may be used to monitor the progression/regression of atherosclerotic plaque volume in a longitudinal study.

Heterogeneous size of the parathyroid glands in familial multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1

We wished to determine whether there was size heterogeneity of the parathyroid glands in patients with familial multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 (FMEN1) and primary hyperparathyroidism. At the National Institutes of Health we performed a retrospective analysis of parathyroid gland volume either from initial or repeat parathyroid exploration. We studied subjects with FMEN1 and primary hyperparathyroidism. The parathyroid gland volume was estimated from recorded orthogonal diameters. Volume could also be estimated conservatively in many glands for which one or more diameters were not recorded. Reproducibility of volume measurements was tested with a series of clay gland models. Indices of variability (among glands at an operation or among replicate measurements of a clay model) were the ratio of maximum volume/minimum volume and the average standard deviation of the log volume. The most complete data were from eight initial operations with three dimensions recorded for all four glands. Volume heterogeneity was indicated by the average ratio of 9.6 for the maximum/minimum gland volume within an operation. The size heterogeneity was even greater among other subgroups. For example, the average ratio of maximum/minimum gland volume within an operation was 17 among five initial operations with four glands removed, but lacking measurements of three dimensions for some glands. Little of this size heterogeneity could be attributed to measurement error since eight replicate measurements on a model gland yielded a maximum/minimum volume ratio of 1.45. There is a wide heterogeneity in size of the parathyroid glands in the patients with FMEN1 and primary hyperparathyroidism.