A fully automated software platform for structural mitral valve analysis

Eur Radiol. 2020 Dec;30(12):6528-6536. doi: 10.1007/s00330-020-06983-7. Epub 2020 Jul 2.

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate a novel fully automated mitral valve analysis software platform for cardiac computer tomography angiography (CCTA)-based structural heart therapy procedure planning.

Methods: The study included 52 patients (25 women; mean age, 66.9 ± 12.4 years) who had undergone CCTA prior to transcatheter mitral valve replacement (TMVR) or surgical mitral valve intervention (replacement or repair). Therapeutically relevant mitral valve annulus parameters (projected area, circumference, trigone-to-trigone (T-T) distance, anterior-posterior (AP) diameter, and anterolateral-posteromedial (AL-PM) diameter) were measured. Results of the fully automated mitral valve analysis software platform with and without manual adjustments were compared with the reference standard of a user-driven measurement program (3mensio, Pie Medical Imaging). Measurements were compared between the fully automated software, both with and without manual adjustment, and the user-driven program using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC). A secondary analysis included the time to obtain all measurements.

Results: Fully automated measurements showed a good to excellent agreement (circumference, ICC = 0.70; projected area, ICC = 0.81; T-T distance, ICC = 0.64; AP, ICC = 0.62; and AL-PM diameter, ICC = 0.78) compared with the user-driven analysis. There was an excellent agreement between fully automated measurement with manual adjustments and user-driven analysis regarding circumference (ICC = 0.91), projected area (ICC = 0.93), T-T distance (ICC = 0.80), AP (ICC = 0.78), and AL-PM diameter (ICC = 0.79). The time required for mitral valve analysis was significantly lower using the fully automated software with manual adjustments compared with the standard assessment (134.4 ± 36.4 s vs. 304.3 ± 77.7 s) (p < 0.01).

Conclusion: The fully automated mitral valve analysis software, when combined with manual adjustments, demonstrated a strong correlation compared with the user-driven software while reducing the total time required for measurement.

Key points: • The novel software platform allows for a fully automated analysis of mitral valve structures. • An excellent agreement was found between the fully automated measurement with manual adjustments and the user-driven analysis. • The software showed quicker measurement time compared with the standard analysis of the mitral valve.

Keywords: Automated mitral valve analysis; Computed tomography; Mitral valve; Transcatheter mitral valve replacement.

MeSH terms

  • Aged
  • Aged, 80 and over
  • Female
  • Heart Valve Prosthesis Implantation*
  • Humans
  • Image Processing, Computer-Assisted / methods
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Mitral Valve / diagnostic imaging*
  • Pattern Recognition, Automated
  • Predictive Value of Tests
  • Reproducibility of Results
  • Retrospective Studies
  • Software
  • Tomography, X-Ray Computed*