Prostate imaging analysis is difficult in diagnosis, therapy, and staging of prostate cancer. In clinical practice, Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is increasingly used thanks to its morphologic and functional capabilities. However, manual detection and delineation of prostate gland on multispectral MRI data is currently a time-expensive and operator-dependent procedure. Efficient computer-assisted segmentation approaches are not yet able to address these issues, but rather have the potential to do so. In this paper, a novel automatic prostate MR image segmentation method based on the Fuzzy C-Means (FCM) clustering algorithm, which enables multispectral T1-weighted (T1w) and T2-weighted (T2w) MRI anatomical data processing, is proposed. This approach, using an unsupervised Machine Learning technique, helps to segment the prostate gland effectively. A total of 21 patients with suspicion of prostate cancer were enrolled in this study. Volume-based metrics, spatial overlap-based metrics and spatial distance-based metrics were used to quantitatively evaluate the accuracy of the obtained segmentation results with respect to the gold-standard boundaries delineated manually by an expert radiologist. The proposed multispectral segmentation method was compared with the same processing pipeline applied on either T2w or T1w MR images alone. The multispectral approach considerably outperforms the monoparametric ones, achieving an average Dice Similarity Coefficient 90.77 ± 1.75, with respect to 81.90 ± 6.49 and 82.55 ± 4.93 by processing T2w and T1w imaging alone, respectively. Combining T2w and T1w MR image structural information significantly enhances prostate gland segmentation by exploiting the uniform gray appearance of the prostate on T1w MRI.

Rundo, L., Militello, C., Russo, G., Garufi, A., Vitabile, S., Gilardi, M., et al. (2017). Automated prostate gland segmentation based on an unsupervised fuzzy C-means clustering technique using multispectral T1w and T2w MR imaging. INFORMATION, 8(2), 1-28 [10.3390/info8020049].

Automated prostate gland segmentation based on an unsupervised fuzzy C-means clustering technique using multispectral T1w and T2w MR imaging

RUNDO, LEONARDO
Primo
;
GILARDI, MARIA CARLA
Penultimo
;
MAURI, GIANCARLO
Ultimo
2017

Abstract

Prostate imaging analysis is difficult in diagnosis, therapy, and staging of prostate cancer. In clinical practice, Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is increasingly used thanks to its morphologic and functional capabilities. However, manual detection and delineation of prostate gland on multispectral MRI data is currently a time-expensive and operator-dependent procedure. Efficient computer-assisted segmentation approaches are not yet able to address these issues, but rather have the potential to do so. In this paper, a novel automatic prostate MR image segmentation method based on the Fuzzy C-Means (FCM) clustering algorithm, which enables multispectral T1-weighted (T1w) and T2-weighted (T2w) MRI anatomical data processing, is proposed. This approach, using an unsupervised Machine Learning technique, helps to segment the prostate gland effectively. A total of 21 patients with suspicion of prostate cancer were enrolled in this study. Volume-based metrics, spatial overlap-based metrics and spatial distance-based metrics were used to quantitatively evaluate the accuracy of the obtained segmentation results with respect to the gold-standard boundaries delineated manually by an expert radiologist. The proposed multispectral segmentation method was compared with the same processing pipeline applied on either T2w or T1w MR images alone. The multispectral approach considerably outperforms the monoparametric ones, achieving an average Dice Similarity Coefficient 90.77 ± 1.75, with respect to 81.90 ± 6.49 and 82.55 ± 4.93 by processing T2w and T1w imaging alone, respectively. Combining T2w and T1w MR image structural information significantly enhances prostate gland segmentation by exploiting the uniform gray appearance of the prostate on T1w MRI.
Articolo in rivista - Articolo scientifico
automated segmentation; multispectral MR imaging; prostate gland; prostate cancer; unsupervised Machine Learning; Fuzzy C-Means clustering
English
2017
8
2
1
28
49
open
Rundo, L., Militello, C., Russo, G., Garufi, A., Vitabile, S., Gilardi, M., et al. (2017). Automated prostate gland segmentation based on an unsupervised fuzzy C-means clustering technique using multispectral T1w and T2w MR imaging. INFORMATION, 8(2), 1-28 [10.3390/info8020049].
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/10281/152784
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