Development of convolutional neural network model for diagnosing meniscus tear using magnetic resonance image

Deep learning (DL) is an advanced machine learning approach used in diverse areas, such as image analysis, bioinformatics, and natural language processing. A convolutional neural network (CNN) is a representative DL model that is advantageous for image recognition and classification. In this study, we aimed to develop a CNN to detect meniscal tears and classify tear types using coronal and sagittal magnetic resonance (MR) images of each patient.

We retrospectively collected 599 cases (medial meniscus tear = 384, lateral meniscus tear = 167, and medial and lateral meniscus tear = 48) of knee MR images from patients with meniscal tears and 449 cases of knee MR images from patients without meniscal tears. To develop the DL model for evaluating the presence of meniscal tears, all the collected knee MR images of 1048 cases were used. To develop the DL model for evaluating the type of meniscal tear, 538 cases with meniscal tears (horizontal tear = 268, complex tear = 147, radial tear = 48, and longitudinal tear = 75) and 449 cases without meniscal tears were used. Additionally, a CNN algorithm was used. To measure the model's performance, 70% of the included data were randomly assigned to the training set, and the remaining 30% were assigned to the test set.

The area under the curves (AUCs) of our model were 0.889, 0.817, and 0.924 for medial meniscal tears, lateral meniscal tears, and medial and lateral meniscal tears, respectively. The AUCs of the horizontal, complex, radial, and longitudinal tears were 0.761, 0.850, 0.601, and 0.858, respectively.

Our study showed that the CNN model has the potential to be used in diagnosing the presence of meniscal tears and differentiating the types of meniscal tears.