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Updated: Jan 24, 2026
Semi-automated Optical Heartbeat Analysis of Small Hearts
Published on: September 16, 2009
Are semi-automated software program designed for adults accurate for the identification of vertebral fractures in
Fawaz F Alqahtani1,2, Fabrizio Messina3, Amaka C Offiah4,5
1Academic Unit of Child Health, Department of Oncology and Metabolism, University of Sheffield, Medical School, University of Sheffield, Street Building, Western Bank, Sheffield, S10 2TH, UK. ffmalqahtani1@sheffield.ac.uk.
Objectives:
To assess whether diagnostic accuracy of morphometric vertebral fracture (VF) diagnosis in children can be improved using AVERT™ (a 33-point semi-automated program developed for VF diagnosis in adults) compared with SpineAnalyzer™ (a 6-point program), which has previously been shown to be of insufficient accuracy.
Materials And Methods:
Lateral spine radiographs (XR) and dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) scans of 50 children and young people were analysed by two observers using two different programs (AVERT™ and SpineAnalyzer™). Diagnostic accuracy (sensitivity, specificity, false-negative (FN) and false-positive rates (FP)) was calculated by comparing with a previously established consensus arrived at by three experienced paediatric musculoskeletal radiologists, using a simplified algorithm-based qualitative scoring system. Observer agreement was calculated using Cohen's kappa.
Results:
For XR, overall sensitivity, specificity, FP and FN rates using AVERT™ were 36%, 95%, 5% and 64% respectively and 26%, 98%, 2% and 75% respectively, using SpineAnalyzer™. For DXA, overall sensitivity, specificity, FP and FN rates using AVERT™ were 41%, 91%, 9% and 59% respectively and 31%, 96%, 4% and 69% respectively, using SpineAnalyzer. Reliability (kappa) ranged from 0.34 to 0.37 (95%CI, 0.26-0.46) for AVERT™ and from 0.26 to 0.31 (95%CI, 0.16-0.44) for SpineAnalyzer™. Inter- and intra-observer agreement ranged from 0.41 to 0.47 for AVERT™ and from 0.50 to 0.79 for SpineAnalyzer™.
Conclusion:
AVERT™ has slightly higher accuracy but lower observer reliability for the representation of vertebral morphometry in children when compared with SpineAnalyzer™. However, neither software program is satisfactorily reliable for VF diagnosis in children.
Key Points:
• SpineAnalyzer™ and AVERT™ have low diagnostic accuracy and observer agreement when compared to three paediatric radiologists' readings for the diagnosis of vertebral fractures (VF) in children. • Neither AVERT™ nor SpineAnalyzer™ is satisfactorily reliable for VF diagnosis in children. • Development of specific paediatric software and normative values (incorporating age-related physiological variation in children) is required.
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