Enhancing Liver Nodule Visibility and Diagnostic Classification Using Ultrasound Local Attenuation Coefficient Slope Imaging

IF 2.4 3区医学 Q2 ACOUSTICS

Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology Pub Date : 2025-01-31 DOI:10.1016/j.ultrasmedbio.2025.01.007

Iman Rafati , François Destrempes , Ladan Yazdani , Maxime Barat , Elige Karam , Audrey Fohlen , Bich N. Nguyen , Hélène Castel , An Tang , Guy Cloutier

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Objective

B-mode ultrasound (US) presents challenges in accurately detecting and distinguishing between benign and malignant liver nodules. This study utilized quantitative US local attenuation coefficient slope (LACS) imaging to address these limitations.

Materials and Methods

This is a prospective, cross-sectional study in adult patients with definable solid liver nodules at US conducted from March 2021 to December 2023. The composite reference standard included histopathology when available or magnetic resonance imaging. LACS images were obtained using a phantom-free method. Nodule visibility was assessed by computing the contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR). Classification accuracy for differentiating benign and malignant lesions was assessed with the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC), along with sensitivity and specificity.

Results

The study enrolled 97 patients (age: 62 y ± 13 [standard deviation]), with 57.0% malignant and 43.0% benign observations (size: 26.3 ± 18.9 mm). LACS images demonstrated higher CNR (12.3 dB) compared to B-mode (p < 0.0001). The AUC for differentiating nodules and liver parenchyma was 0.85 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.79–0.90), with higher values for malignant (0.93, CI: 0.88–0.97) than benign nodules (0.76, CI: 0.66–0.87). A LACS threshold of 0.94 dB/cm/MHz provided a sensitivity of 0.83 (CI: 0.74–0.89) and a specificity of 0.82 (CI: 0.73–0.88). LACS mean values were higher (p < 0.0001) in malignant (1.28 ± 0.27 dB/cm/MHz) than benign nodules (0.98 ± 0.19 dB/cm/MHz).

Conclusion

LACS imaging improves nodule visibility and provides better differentiation between benign and malignant liver nodules, showing promise as a diagnostic tool.

查看原文本刊更多论文

超声局部衰减系数斜坡成像增强肝结节可见性及诊断分类。

目的：b超在准确检测和鉴别肝结节良恶性方面存在挑战。本研究利用定量美国局部衰减系数斜率（LACS）成像来解决这些局限性。材料和方法：这是一项前瞻性、横断面研究，研究对象是在2021年3月至2023年12月期间在美国进行的具有明确实性肝结节的成年患者。复合参考标准包括组织病理学检查或磁共振成像。采用无影法获得LACS图像。通过计算噪声对比比（CNR）来评估结节可见性。以受者工作特征曲线下面积（AUC）、敏感性和特异性评估良恶性病变的分类准确性。结果：研究纳入97例患者（年龄：62 y±13[标准差]），其中恶性57.0%，良性43.0%（尺寸：26.3±18.9 mm）。与b模式相比，LACS图像显示更高的CNR (12.3 dB) （p < 0.0001）。结节与肝实质鉴别的AUC为0.85(95%可信区间[CI]: 0.79-0.90)，恶性结节的AUC （0.93, CI: 0.88-0.97）高于良性结节（0.76,CI: 0.66-0.87）。LACS阈值为0.94 dB/cm/MHz，灵敏度为0.83 (CI: 0.74-0.89)，特异性为0.82 （CI: 0.73-0.88）。恶性结节的LACS平均值（1.28±0.27 dB/cm/MHz）高于良性结节（0.98±0.19 dB/cm/MHz）（p < 0.0001）。结论：LACS显像提高了肝结节的可见性，并能更好地区分肝结节的良恶性，有望成为肝结节的诊断工具。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology 医学-核医学

CiteScore

6.20

自引率

6.90%

发文量

325

审稿时长

70 days

期刊介绍： Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology is the official journal of the World Federation for Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology. The journal publishes original contributions that demonstrate a novel application of an existing ultrasound technology in clinical diagnostic, interventional and therapeutic applications, new and improved clinical techniques, the physics, engineering and technology of ultrasound in medicine and biology, and the interactions between ultrasound and biological systems, including bioeffects. Papers that simply utilize standard diagnostic ultrasound as a measuring tool will be considered out of scope. Extended critical reviews of subjects of contemporary interest in the field are also published, in addition to occasional editorial articles, clinical and technical notes, book reviews, letters to the editor and a calendar of forthcoming meetings. It is the aim of the journal fully to meet the information and publication requirements of the clinicians, scientists, engineers and other professionals who constitute the biomedical ultrasonic community.