Repeatability of radiomic features from brain T1-W MRI after image intensity normalization: Implications for longitudinal studies on structural neurodegeneration

IF 4.9 2区医学 Q1 COMPUTER SCIENCE, INTERDISCIPLINARY APPLICATIONS

Computer methods and programs in biomedicine Pub Date : 2025-04-07 DOI:10.1016/j.cmpb.2025.108738

Noemi Pisani , Michela Destito , Carlo Ricciardi , Maria Teresa Pellecchia , Mario Cesarelli , Fabrizio Esposito , Maria Francesca Spadea , Francesco Amato

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Background and Objective:

Radiomics extracts quantitative features from magnetic resonance images (MRI) and is especially useful in the presence of subtle pathological changes within human soft tissues. This scenario, however, may not cover the effects of intrinsic, e.g., aging-related, (physiological) neurodegeneration of normal brain tissue. The aim of the work was to study the repeatability of radiomic features extracted from an apparently normal area in longitudinally acquired T1-weighted MR brain images using three different intensity normalization approaches typically used in radiomics: Z-score, WhiteStripe and Nyul.

Methods:

Fifty-nine images of hearing impaired, yet cognitively intact, patients were repeatedly acquired in two different time points within six months. Ninety-one radiomic features were obtained from an area within the pons region, considered to be a healthy brain tissue according to previous analyses and reports. The Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC) and the Concordance Correlation Coefficient (CCC) in the repeatability study were used as metrics.

Results:

Features extracted from the MRI normalized with Z-score showed results comparable in both ICC (0.90 (0.82–0.98)) and CCC (0.82 (0.69–0.95)) distribution values, in terms of median and quartiles, with those extracted from the images normalized with WhiteStripe (0.89 (0.84–0.92)) and (0.80 (0.73–0.84)), respectively.

Conclusion:

Our findings underline the importance of, providing useful guidelines for, the intensity normalization of brain MRI prior to a longitudinal radiomic analysis.

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来源期刊

Computer methods and programs in biomedicine 工程技术-工程：生物医学

CiteScore

12.30

自引率

6.60%

发文量

601

审稿时长

135 days

期刊介绍： To encourage the development of formal computing methods, and their application in biomedical research and medical practice, by illustration of fundamental principles in biomedical informatics research; to stimulate basic research into application software design; to report the state of research of biomedical information processing projects; to report new computer methodologies applied in biomedical areas; the eventual distribution of demonstrable software to avoid duplication of effort; to provide a forum for discussion and improvement of existing software; to optimize contact between national organizations and regional user groups by promoting an international exchange of information on formal methods, standards and software in biomedicine. Computer Methods and Programs in Biomedicine covers computing methodology and software systems derived from computing science for implementation in all aspects of biomedical research and medical practice. It is designed to serve: biochemists; biologists; geneticists; immunologists; neuroscientists; pharmacologists; toxicologists; clinicians; epidemiologists; psychiatrists; psychologists; cardiologists; chemists; (radio)physicists; computer scientists; programmers and systems analysts; biomedical, clinical, electrical and other engineers; teachers of medical informatics and users of educational software.