Application and prospect of radiomics in spinal cord and spine system diseases: A narrative review

Abstract

Spinal cord and spine system diseases are complex and diverse, and prognosis is often poor. Therefore, early diagnosis is essential, especially for spinal system tumors, which are malignant nervous system tumors that have the highest mortality and disability rates. Accurate diagnosis avoids unnecessary operations. Traditional medical imaging diagnosis remains at the level of anatomical morphology, and there is a considerable amount of useful information that can be extracted and utilized. Radiomics is a new method of medical imaging diagnosis that is committed to improving image analysis and is capable of extracting a large number (more than 200 types) of quantitative features from medical images. Numerous studies on the application of radiomics in various systems of the body have been conducted. We reviewed current research on radiomics in spinal cord and spine system diseases and discussed the progress and challenges to provide a basis for improving the diagnosis and identification of spinal cord and spine system diseases and offer evidence-based support for precision medicine.