In this study, the authors explored the application of deep learning in patients with primary osteoporosis. Furthermore, they aimed to develop a fully automatic method based on a deep convolutional neural network (DCNN) for vertebral body segmentation and bone mineral density (BMD) calculation in CT images. The authors were able to determine that a deep learning-based method could achieve full automatic identification of osteoporosis, osteopenia, and normal BMD calculation in CT images.
Key points
- Deep learning can perform accurate fully automated segmentation of lumbar vertebral body in CT images.
- The average BMDs obtained by deep learning highly correlates with ones derived from QCT.
- The deep learning-based method could be helpful for clinicians in opportunistic osteoporosis screening in spinal or abdominal CT scans.
Authors: Yijie Fang, Wei Li, Xiaojun Chen, Keming Chen, Han Kang, Pengxin Yu, Rongguo Zhang, Jianwei Liao, Guobin Hong & Shaolin Li
