Longitudinal automated brain volumetry versus expert visual assessment of atrophy progression on MRI

• Verfasst von: Gebest, Max Philipp [VerfasserIn]
• Verfasst von: Weiß, Christel [VerfasserIn]
• Verfasst von: Cho, Chang Gyu [VerfasserIn]
• Verfasst von: Hausner, Lucrezia [VerfasserIn]
• Verfasst von: Frölich, Lutz [VerfasserIn]
• Verfasst von: Förster, Alex [VerfasserIn]
• Verfasst von: Santhanam, Nandhini [VerfasserIn]
• Verfasst von: Fontana, Johann [VerfasserIn]
• Verfasst von: Groden, Christoph [VerfasserIn]
• Verfasst von: Wenz, Holger [VerfasserIn]
• Verfasst von: Maros, Máté E. [VerfasserIn]
• Titel: Longitudinal automated brain volumetry versus expert visual assessment of atrophy progression on MRI
• Titelzusatz: an exploratory study
• Verf.angabe: Max Gebest, Christel Weiß, Chang-Gyu Cho, Lucrezia Hausner, Lutz Frölich, Alex Förster, Nandhini Santhanam, Johann Fontana, Christoph Groden, Holger Wenz and Máté E. Maros
• E-Jahr: 2025
• Jahr: 29 April 2025
• Umfang: 10 S.
• Illustrationen: Diagramme
• Fussnoten: Gesehen am 10.06.2025
• Titel Quelle: Enthalten in: Scientific reports
• Ort Quelle: [London] : Springer Nature, 2011
• Jahr Quelle: 2025
• Band/Heft Quelle: 15(2025), Artikel-ID 14968, Seite 1-10
• ISSN Quelle: 2045-2322
• DOI: doi:10.1038/s41598-025-98360-x
• Datenträger: Online-Ressource
• Sprache: eng
• Sach-SW: Alzheimer's disease
• Sach-SW: Brain imaging
• Sach-SW: Diagnostic markers
• Sach-SW: Three-dimensional imaging
• K10plus-PPN: 1927848601

Abstract

Automated tools have been proposed to quantify brain volume for suspected dementia diagnoses. However, their robustness in longitudinal, real-life cohorts remains unexplored. This exploratory study examined if expert visual assessment (EVA) of atrophy progression is reflected by automated volumetric analyses (AVA) on sequential MR-imaging. We analyzed a random subset of 20 patients with two consecutive 3D T1-weighted examinations (median follow-up 4.0 years, LQ-UQ: 2.1-5.2, range: 0.2-10). Thirteen (65%) with cognitive decline, the remaining with other neuropsychiatric diseases. EVA was performed by two blinded neuroradiologists using a 3 or 5-point Likert scale for atrophy progression (scores $$\pm$$0-2: no, probable and certain progression or decrease, respectively) in dementia-relevant brain regions (frontal-, parietal-, temporal lobes, hippocampi, ventricles). Differences of AVA-volumes were normalized to baseline (delta). Inter-rater agreement of EVA scores was excellent (κ = 0.92). AVA-delta and EVA showed significant global associations for the right hippocampus (pKW = 0.035), left temporal lobe (pKW = 0.0092), ventricle volume (pKW = 0.0091) and a weak association for the parietal lobe (pKW = 0.067). Post hoc testing revealed additional significant link for the left hippocampus (pWSRT = 0.039). In conclusion, the associations between volumetric deltas and EVA of atrophy progression showed promising results for certain brain regions. However, AVA-deltas exhibited unexpected variance, highlighting the need for caution and expert visual confirmation, particularly when scanners or acquisition protocols vary during follow-ups. Therefore, further validation, ideally in large prospective cohorts, is necessary before AVA can be recommended for routine clinical implementation in longitudinal follow-ups.