Comparison of 3D computer-aided with manual cerebral aneurysm measurements in different imaging modalities

INTRODUCTION: To compare intra- and inter-observer reliability of aneurysm measurements obtained by a 3D computer-aided technique with standard manual aneurysm measurements in different imaging modalities.

METHODS: A total of 21 patients with 29 cerebral aneurysms were studied. All patients underwent digital subtraction angiography (DSA), contrast-enhanced (CE-MRA) and time-of-flight magnetic resonance angiography (TOF-MRA). Aneurysm neck and depth diameters were manually measured by two observers in each modality. Additionally, semi-automatic computer-aided diameter measurements were performed using 3D vessel surface models derived from CE- (CE-com) and TOF-MRA (TOF-com) datasets. Bland-Altman analysis (BA) and intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) were used to evaluate intra- and inter-observer agreement.

RESULTS: BA revealed the narrowest relative limits of intra- and inter-observer agreement for aneurysm neck and depth diameters obtained by TOF-com (ranging between ±5.3 % and ±28.3 %) and CE-com (ranging between ±23.3 % and ±38.1 %). Direct measurements in DSA, TOF-MRA and CE-MRA showed considerably wider limits of agreement. The highest ICCs were observed for TOF-com and CE-com (ICC values, 0.92 or higher for intra- as well as inter-observer reliability).

CONCLUSION: Computer-aided aneurysm measurement in 3D offers improved intra- and inter-observer reliability and a reproducible parameter extraction, which may be used in clinical routine and as objective surrogate end-points in clinical trials.