Shaping Quality in Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance: A Comparative Study of Segmentation Approaches by Trainees and...

Area of Science:

• Cardiology
• Medical Imaging
• Radiology

Background:

• Cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) is a key cardiovascular imaging (CVI) tool.
• Training limitations hinder the widespread adoption and effective use of CMR.
• This study investigates how CVI experience influences CMR segmentation quality.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze the impact of cardiovascular imaging (CVI) experience on CMR segmentation.
• To establish quality standards for CMR training and supervision.
• To evaluate segmentation performance across different experience levels.

Main Methods:

• Four CMR experts established gold-standard ventricular contours.
• 46 readers (beginners, intermediates, experts) performed segmentations after a brief teaching session.
• Dice Similarity Coefficient (DSC) was used to compare segmentation accuracy and analyze deviations.

Main Results:

• Significant differences in segmentation accuracy were observed, particularly for left ventricular (LV) endocardial and myocardial contours, and right ventricular (RV) contours.
• Experts generally achieved higher DSC scores across most metrics.
• Disagreements were primarily linked to the handling of basal slices and did not significantly affect overall volume and function measurements.

Conclusions:

• A brief, standardized teaching session enabled beginners and intermediates to achieve chamber quantification comparable to experts.
• Persistent differences in segmentation, especially for LV mass and RV, necessitate continuous training.
• Implementing automated quality assurance methods is recommended to further enhance CMR segmentation consistency.