Opportunistic osteoporosis screening using deep learning (DL) analysis of low-dose chest CT (LDCT) scans is a potentially promising approach for the early diagnosis of this condition. We explored bone mineral density (BMD) profiles across all adult ages and prevalence of osteoporosis using LDCT with DL in a Korean population. This retrospective study included 1915 participants from two hospitals who underwent LDCT during general health checkups between 2018 and 2021. Trabecular volumetric BMD of L1-2 was automatically calculated using DL and categorized according to the American College of Radiology quantitative computed tomography diagnostic criteria. BMD decreased with age in both men and women. Women had a higher peak BMD in their twenties, but lower BMD than men after 50. Among adults aged 50 and older, the prevalence of osteoporosis and osteopenia was 26.3% and 42.0%, respectively. Osteoporosis prevalence was 18.0% in men and 34.9% in women, increasing with age. Compared to previous data obtained using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, the prevalence of osteoporosis, particularly in men, was more than double. The automated opportunistic BMD measurements using LDCT can effectively predict osteoporosis for opportunistic screening and identify high-risk patients. Patients undergoing lung cancer screening may especially profit from this procedure requiring no additional imaging or radiation exposure.
Objectives: This study aims to assess the limitations of the height loss ratio (HLR) method and introduce a new approach that integrates a deep learning (DL) model to enhance vertebral compression fracture (VCF) detection performance. Methods: We conducted a retrospective study on 589 patients with chronic VCFs. We compared four different methods: HLR-only, DL-only, a combination of HLR and DL for positive VCF, and a combination of HLR and DL for negative VCF. The models were evaluated using dice similarity coefficient, sensitivity, specificity, and area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC). Results: The combined method (HLR + DL, positive) demonstrated the best performance with an AUROC of 0.968, sensitivity (94.95%), and specificity (90.59%). The HLR-only and the HLR + DL (negative) also showed strong discriminatory power, with AUROCs of 0.948 and 0.947, respectively. The DL-only model achieved the highest specificity (95.92%) but exhibited lower sensitivity (82.83%). Conclusions: Our study highlights the limitations of the HLR method in detecting chronic VCFs and demonstrates the improved performance of combining HLR with DL models.
20 April 2022 in Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology