Evaluation of the Intra-rater Variation for the Estimation of Volume of Cerebral Structures Using the Cavalieri Principle on Magnetic Resonance Images

Year 2011, Volume: 28 Issue: 1, 22 - 25, 15.02.2012

Amani Elfaki Tahir Osman Abdelgani Elsheikh Anas Hamdoun Bünyamin Şahin

Abstract

ABSTRACT
Measurement of brain volume is regarded as an objective marker of neurodegenerative diseases. The purpose of this study is to evaluate intra-rater variation for the estimation of volume of cerebral structures using the Cavalieri principle on magnetic resonance (MR) images to determine its reproducibility. The MR images of 30 cases were analyzed using the same standard protocols of the Cavalieri principle in two sessions with one month intervals. The structural MR images were analyzed using the ImageJ software by the same observer. The planimetry and threshold process was used for the cut surface area assessments. The volume of hemispheres, total brain, gray and white matters were and lateral ventricles estimated by means of the multiplication of cut surface are by the section interval. The same sections were used in both sessions. The results of two sessions were compared using Wilcoxon Signed Rank test. The mean total brain, right and left hemispheres volumes of first session were 1089.53, 544.82 and 544.71cm3, respectively. The mean total brain, right and left hemispheres volumes of second session were 1086.62, 543.99 and 542.63cm3, respectively. There was no statistically significant difference between the data (p0.05). The mean total gray and white matters volumes were 553.55, 535.98 and 549.32, 537.31cm3 for the first and second sessions, respectively. There was no statistically significant difference for the gray and white matters results (p0.05). Our results showed that the reproducibility of the obtained data is good. The volume of cerebral structures could be estimated using the Cavalieri principle on MR images for comparative studies. We are planning to evaluate inter-rater difference in advance.

Keywords

Brain, Intra-rater variation, Stereology, Cavalieri principle, Planimetry, Magnetic resonance imaging

References

• Akbas, H., Sahin, B., Eroglu, L., Odaci, E., Bilgic, S., Kaplan, S., Uzun, A., Ergur, H , Bek, Y. 2004. Estimation of breast prosthesis volume by the Cavalieri principle using magnetic resonance images. Aesthetic. Plast. Surg. 28, 275-280.
• Bermel, R.A., Sharma, J., Tjoa, C.W., Puli, S.R., Bakshi, R. 2003. A semiautomated measure of whole-brain atrophy in multiple sclerosis. J. Neurol. Sci. 208, 57-65.
• Cruz-Orive, L.M. 1997. Stereology of single objects. J. Microsc. 186, 93-107.
• Dawant, B.M., Hartmann, S.L., Thirion, J.P., Maes, F., Vandermeulen, D., Demaerel P. 1999. Automatic 3-D segmentation of internal structures of the head in MR images using a combination of similarity and free-form transformations, Part I, Methodology and validation on normal subjects. IEEE Trans Med Imaging. 18, 909-916.
• Diederichs, C.G., Keating, D.P., Glatting, G., Oestmann, J.W. 1996. Blurring of vessels in spiral CT angiography: effects of collimation width, pitch, viewing plane, and windowing in maximum intensity projection. J. Comput. Assist. Tomogr. 20, 965-974.
• García-Fiñana, M., Cruz-Orive, L.M., Mackay, C., Pakkenberg, B., Roberts, N. 2003. Comparison of MR imaging against physical sectioning to estimate the volume of human cerebral compartments. NeuroImage. 18, 505-516.
• Giesel, F.L., Hart, A.R., Hahn, H.K., Wignall, E., Rengier, F., Talanow, R., Wilkinson, I.D., Zechmann, C.M., Weber, M.A., Kauczor, H.U., Essig, M., Griffiths, P.D. 2009. 3D reconstructions of the cerebral ventricles and volume quantification in children with brain malforma tions. Acad Radiol. 16, 610-617.
• Gong, Q.Y., Tan, L.T., Romaniuk, C.S., Jones, B., Brunt, J.N., Roberts N. 1999. Determination of tumour regression rates during radiotherapy for cervical carcinoma by serial MRI, comparison of two measurement techniques and examination of intraobserver and interobserver variability. Br. J. Radiol. 72, 62-72.
• Mackay, C.E., Pakkenberg, B., Roberts, N. 1999. Comparison of compartment volumes estimated from MR images and Physical sections of formalin fixed cerebral hemispheres. Acta. Stereol. 18, 149-159.
• Odaci, E., Sahin, B., Sonmez, O.F., Kaplan, S., Bas, O., Bilgic, S., Bek, Y., Ergür, H. 2003. Rapid estimation of the vertebral body volume, a combination of the Cavalieri principle and computed tomography images. Eur. J. Radiol. 48, 316-326.
• Roberts, N., Cruz-Orive, L.M., Reid, N.M., Brodie, D.A., Bourne, M., Edwards, R.H. 1993. Unbiased estimation of human body composition by the Cavalieri method using magnetic resonance imaging. J. Microsc. 171, 239-253.
• Roberts, N., Puddephat, M.J., McNulty, V. 2000. The benefit of stereology for quantitative radiology. Br. J. Radiol. 73, 679-697.
• Ronan, L., Doherty, C.P., Delanty, N., Thornton, J., Fitzsimons, M. 2006. Quantitative MRI, a reliable protocol for measurement of cerebral gyrification using stereology. Magn. Reson. Imaging. 24, 265-272.
• Rovaris, M. 2000. Sensitivity and reproducibility of volume change measurements of different brain portions on MR scans from patients with multiple sclerosis. J. Neurol. 247, 960- 965.
• Sahin, B., Emirzeoglu, M., Uzun, A., Incesu, L., Bek, Y., Bilgic, S., Kaplan S. 2003. Unbiased estimation of the liver volume by the Cavalieri principle using magnetic resonance images. Eur. J. Radiol. 47, 164-170.
• Sahin, B., Ergur, H. 2006. Assessment of the optimum section thickness for the estimation of liver volume using magnetic resonance images, a stereological gold standard study. Eur. J. Radiol. 57, 96–101.