Evaluation of a Fully Automated Method for Ventricular Volume Segmentation Before and After Shunt Surgery in...

Determination of the ventricle size in idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus (iNPH) is essential for diagnosis and follow-up of shunt results. Fully automated segmentation methods are anticipated to optimize the accuracy and time efficiency of ventricular volume measurements. We evaluated the accuracy of preoperative and postoperative ventricular volume measurements in iNPH by a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-based licensed software for fully automated quantitative assessment.

Forty-eight patients diagnosed with iNPH were retrospectively analyzed. All patients received a ventriculoperitoneal shunt and had symptom grading and routine MRI preoperatively and 3-6 months postoperatively. Ventricular volumes, generated by fully automated T1-weighted imaging volume sequence segmentation, were compared with semiautomatic measurements and routine radiologic reports. The relation of postoperative ventricular size change to clinical response was evaluated.

Fully automated segmentation was achieved in 95% of the MRIs, but showed various rates of 8 minor segmentation errors. The correlation between both segmentation methods was very strong (r >0.9) and the agreement very good using Bland-Altman analyses. The ventricular volumes differed significantly between semiautomated and fully automated segmentations and between preoperative and postoperative MRI. The fully automated method systematically overestimated the ventricles by a median 15 mL preoperatively and 14 mL postoperatively; hence, the magnitudes of volume changes were equivalent. Routine radiologic reports of ventricular size changes were inaccurate in 51% and lacked association with treatment response. Objectively measured ventricular volume changes correlated moderately with postoperative clinical improvement.

A fully automated volumetric method permits reliable evaluation of preoperative ventriculomegaly and postoperative ventricular volume change in idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus.