Segmentation and Measurement of Carotid Artery Stenosis in Ultrasound Images Using Computer Vision Methods

Öz

With the change of living conditions and dietary habits, there has been an increase in vascular diseases in recent years. These diseases often lead to peripheral narrowing and occlusion of the arteries. In the management of vascular diseases, which can lead to serious consequences such as stroke and even death, it is very valuable to use appropriate imaging techniques for early and accurate diagnosis. However, the large and complex vascular network makes it difficult to analyze accurate data during diagnostic procedures. In our study, we aimed to easily, quickly and effectively recognize carotid arteries and stenoses ultrasonographically using computer vision deep learning techniques. A dataset containing 3 different levels of the carotid artery was created by obtaining 3401 US images from 120 cases whose age and gender were randomly selected. The width of the carotid artery and the vessels where stenosis was detected were measured using the computer vision deep learning method. Computer vision deep learning segmentation successfully detected carotid arteries with a rate of 98% and stenosis in the carotid artery with a rate of 90%, which is considered high.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Carotid Artery detection
• Deep learning
• Image segmentation
• Stenosis detection
• Stenosis measurement
• Ultrasonography (US).

Bilgisayar Görüntüleme Yöntemleri Kullanılarak Ultrason Görüntülerinde Karotis Arter Stenozunun Segmentasyonu ve Ölçümü

Öz

Yaşam koşullarının ve beslenme alışkanlıklarının değişmesiyle birlikte son yıllarda damar hastalıklarında artış görülmektedir. Bu hastalıklar sıklıkla atardamarların periferik daralmasına ve tıkanmasına yol açmaktadır. İnme ve hatta ölüm gibi ciddi sonuçlara yol açabilen damar hastalıklarının yönetiminde erken ve doğru tanı için uygun görüntüleme tekniklerinin kullanılması oldukça değerlidir. Ancak damar ağının geniş ve karmaşık olması tanısal işlemler sırasında doğru verilerin analizini zorlaştırmaktadır. Çalışmamızda bilgisayarlı görüntü derin öğrenme tekniklerini kullanarak karotis arterlerini ve darlıklarını ultrasonografik olarak kolay, hızlı ve etkili bir şekilde tanımayı amaçladık. Yaş ve cinsiyeti rastgele seçilen 120 olgudan 3401 US görüntüsü elde edilerek karotis arterinin 3 farklı seviyesini içeren bir veri seti oluşturuldu. Karotis arterinin genişliği ve darlık tespit edilen damarlar bilgisayarlı görüntü derin öğrenme yöntemi kullanılarak ölçüldü. Bilgisayarlı görüntü derin öğrenme segmentasyonu karotis arterlerini %98 oranında, karotis arterindeki darlığı ise %90 oranında başarılı bir şekilde tespit etti ki bu yüksek bir orandır.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Karotis Arter tespiti
• Derin öğrenme
• Görüntü segmentasyonu
• Darlık tespiti
• Darlık ölçümü
• Ultrasonografi (US).

Kaynakça

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