Deep Learning-Based Fully Automated Aortic Valve Leaflets and Root Measurement From Computed Tomography Images　― A Feasibility Study ―

Abstract

Background: The aim of this study was to retrain our existing deep learning-based fully automated aortic valve leaflets/root measurement algorithm, using computed tomography (CT) data for root dilatation (RD), and assess its clinical feasibility.

Methods and Results: 67 ECG-gated cardiac CT scans were retrospectively collected from 40 patients with RD to retrain the algorithm. An additional 100 patients’ CT data with aortic stenosis (AS, n=50) and aortic regurgitation (AR) with/without RD (n=50) were collected to evaluate the algorithm. 45 AR patients had RD. The algorithm provided patient-specific 3-dimensional aortic valve/root visualization. The measurements of 100 cases automatically obtained by the algorithm were compared with an expert’s manual measurements. Overall, there was a moderate-to-high correlation, with differences of 6.1–13.4 mm²for the virtual basal ring area, 1.1–2.6 mm for sinus diameter, 0.1–0.6 mm for coronary artery height, 0.2–0.5 mm for geometric height, and 0.9 mm for effective height, except for the sinotubular junction of the AR cases (10.3 mm) with an indefinite borderline over the dilated sinuses, compared with 2.1 mm in AS cases. The measurement time (122 s) per case by the algorithm was significantly shorter than those of the experts (618–1,126 s).

Conclusions: This fully automated algorithm can assist in evaluating aortic valve/root anatomy for planning surgical and transcatheter treatments while saving time and minimizing workload.