Name: Extraction of 3D Region of the Liver for Hepatic Fibrosis Diagnosis
Uploaded: 2023-07-21T12:10:00
Description: Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Extraction of 3D Region of the Liver for Hepatic Fibrosis Diagnosis at JoVE.com

extraction of 3d region of the liver for hepatic fibrosis diagnosis

Quantitative Analysis of Liver Stiffness Distribution

Hepatic fibrosis refers to the formation of excessive scar tissue in the liver, usually as a result of liver damage or disease1,2,3,4. It frequently arises as a consequence of chronic liver injury and is commonly associated with liver diseases, such as chronic viral hepatitis, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, and alcoholic liver disease. If left untreated, hepatic fibrosis can progress to cirrhosis, a potentially life-threatening condition associated with significant morbidity and mortality.
Active research in this area aims to elucidate the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying the pathogenesis of hepatic fibrosis, as well as to develop novel diagnostic and therapeutic strategies to improve patient outcomes. Another objective is the noninvasive detection of the hepatic fibrosis stage, which is a critical aspect that directly correlates with disease diagnosis, treatment selection, and prognosis evaluation. Despite the importance of accurate diagnosis and the monitoring of hepatic fibrosis, traditional diagnostic methods, such as liver biopsy, are invasive and associated with significant risks. In contrast, magnetic resonance elastography5,6 (MRE) is a promising non-invasive imaging technique that has demonstrated potential in the diagnosis and monitoring of hepatic fibrosis by quantifying liver stiffness.
In recent years, there has been significant research focused on evaluating the accuracy and reliability of MRE in the diagnosis of hepatic fibrosis, as well as its potential advantages over traditional diagnostic methods. The liver stiffness metric of MRE has been granted approval by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for clinical diagnosis, and extensive comparative analysis with pathological results has been conducted in clinical practice. The results have shown that the stiffness maps generated by MRE exhibit a strong positive correlation with various stages of liver fibrosis7,8,9,10,11,12. Yet so far, the work of accurately evaluating and tracking the progression of liver fibrosis in patients through quantitative analysis of liver stiffness distribution (LSD) by matching liver structure images with MRE has not made much progress.
In this study, the medical imaging group analysis technique13,14,15 is introduced to achieve accurate alignment of the liver structure images with the stiffness map generated by MRE in 3D space, enabling the calculation of liver stiffness values for each voxel of the entire liver. Based on the 3D-digital model of LSD, the exact distribution of patient-specific liver fibrosis staging can be calculated and evaluated. This lays a solid foundation for the precise quantitative diagnosis of early-stage liver fibrosis.

Author Spotlight: Advancing Hepatic Fibrosis Diagnosis Using Magnetic Resonance Elastography and AI 

A Three-Dimensional Digital Model for Early Diagnosis of Hepatic Fibrosis Based on Magnetic Resonance Elastography

The scope of the research is to develop a three dimensional digital model for the early diagnosis of hepatic fibrosis based on magnetic resonance elastography. The research aims to address the limitations of current methods and provide a noninvasive and quantitative approach for the accurate assessment and monitoring of hepatic fibrosis. Some of the current experimental challenges in the field of hepatic fibrosis research include improving the scanning accuracy and imaging techniques of non-invasive methods like magnetic resonance elastography, standardizing computational protocols for consistent results and accumulating more comprehensive, and that was data size for accurate classification and diagnosis.The liver MRI structural images were accurately aligned with MRE images, enabling the three dimensional distribution of liver stiffness, distribution, and achieving precise quantification in 3D space. It is possible to accurately establish a liver's stiffness distribution map for a healthy liver, and conveniently utilize it for the diagnosis and the treatment of patients with different stages of liver cirrhosis. In the future, we want to address AI-driven diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis of liver diseases, as well as the development of herbal medicines related to liver diseases.

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Extraction of 3D Region of the Liver for Hepatic Fibrosis Diagnosis at JoVE.com

Extraction of 3D Region of the Liver for Hepatic Fibrosis Diagnosis

To begin, open MATLAB software. Ensure that the IDEAL data have a horizontal resolution of 256 by 256 pixels with a pixel spacing of 1.5625 millimeters and a slice thickness of 10 millimeters. Copy all DICOM data to a customized working directory, and navigate to the directory containing the data in MATLAB's working directory.Then execute the description name function to add descriptive names to the folders for each sequence. Add a description name to each image sequence folder. To check images of IDEAL, change the directory of different phase folders.Execute the slice view function to view the impact sequences for each phase. Next, quickly browse the different sequences using the scroll bar at the bottom of the GUI. Select the MRI IDEAL outphase sequence to depict liver tissue boundaries.Initiate the Mimics software. Select new project, and in the ensuing dialogue box, navigate to the folder containing the IDEAL outphase images. Click next, followed by the convert button to enter into the sequence heading state.To create an empty mask, from the mask dialogue box, click on the new button and select the maximum threshold. Using the edit masks tool located beneath the segment label, delimit the area of the liver in all horizontal views. To generate the 3D spatial part of the liver, select the outlying liver mask and click on the calculate part for mask button.Next, click file, then export, and select the DICOM command. In the pop-up dialogue box, choose the liver mask, and set the file path and names, then click the OK button to complete the export of the 3D region of the liver to the specified DICOM files.

Research

JoVE Journal

Medicine

Hepatic fibrosis is an early stage of liver cirrhosis, and there are no better non-invasive and convenient methods for the detection and evaluation of the ...