Automated Measurments of Foramina on CT
| Purpose | Create automated measures of foraminal stenosis on cross-sectional imaging studies of the lumbar spine |
| Tag(s) |
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| Panel | Musculoskeletal |
| Define-AI ID | 20050034 |
| Originator | Douglas Mintz |
| Lead | Douglas Mintz |
| Panel Chair | Jay Patti |
| Panel Reviewers | Musculoskeletal |
| License | Creative Commons 4.0 |
| Status | Public Comment |
| RadElement Set | RDES163 |
Clinical Implementation
Value Proposition
Having an automated measure of stenosis would improve radiologists' efficiency and consistency in reading cross-sectional spine studies. It could also be the starting point for research, such as the creation of normative data.Narrative(s)
A 60 year old patient with back pain comes for a pre-operative lumbar spine CT scan to assess the degrees of bony stenosis.Workflow Description
The CT scan is analyzed by background AI software. The software verifies the numbering of the lumbar spine and provides automated measurement in square millimeters for the neural foramina at each imaged level left and right. A sample image would be provided in order to confirm the algorithm used the correct image. The algorithm should be able to provide a numeric value for the cross sectional area of the foramen in the sagittal plane defined by the location of the pedicle for the L5/S1 foramen and sequentially every visible foramen superior to this foramen.The system auto-populates those parts of a report for the reading radiologist to confirm. The radiologist completes the CT report.
Considerations for Dataset Development
| Procedure | CT Lumbar Spine |
| View | .625 mm slices to the lumbar spine |
| Age | 14 + |
| Note: exclude studies with surgical hardware | |
Technical Specifications
Inputs
DICOM study
| Procedure | CT Lumbar Spine |
| Views | Volumetric Dataset |
| Data Type | DICOM |
| Modality | CT |
| Body Region | Lumbar Spine |
Primary Outputs
Left Neural Foraminal Area Measurement
| RadElement ID | RDE1133 |
| Definition | Measure the area of the left neural foramina at each level. The algorithm should be able to provide a numeric value for the cross sectional area of the foramen in the sagittal plane defined by the location of the pedicle for the L5/S1 foramen and sequentially every visible foramen superior to this foramen. |
| Data Type | Numeric |
| Value Set | N/A |
| Units | mm2 |
Right Neural Foraminal Area Measurement
| RadElement ID | RDE1134 |
| Definition | Measure the area of the right neural foramina at each level. The algorithm should be able to provide a numeric value for the cross sectional area of the foramen in the sagittal plane defined by the location of the pedicle for the L5/S1 foramen and sequentially every visible foramen superior to this foramen. |
| Data Type | Numeric |
| Value Set | N/A |
| Units | mm2 |
Future Development Ideas
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Expansion to other parts of the spine (cervical and thoracic) and to other modalities (MRI)
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Research potential includes the creation and confirmation of normative data for spinal canal and foraminal areas
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Include studies that have surgical hardware
Related Datasets
No known related public datasets at this time, please alert us if you know of any.