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Purpose: We compared the feasibility of quantitative analysis methods using bone SPECT/CT with those using planar bone scans to assess active sacroiliitis. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed whole-body bone scans and pelvic bone SPECT/CTs of 8 patients who had clinically confirmed sacroiliitis and enrolled 24 patients without sacroiliitis as references. The volume of interest of each sacroiliac joint, including both the ilium and sacrum, was drawn. Active arthritis zone (AAZ) was defined as the zone of voxels with higher SUV than sacral mean SUV within the VOI of SI joint. Then, the following SPECT/CT quantitative parameters, SUVmax (maximum SUV), SUV50% (mean SUV in highest 50% of SUV), and SUV-AAZ, and the ratio of those values to sacral mean SUV (SUVmax/S, SUV50%/S, SUV-AAZ/S) were calculated. For the planar bone scan, the mean count ratio of SI joint/sacrum (SI/S) was conventionally measured. Results: Most of the SPECT/CT parameters of the sacroiliitis group were significantly higher than the normal group, whereas SI/S of the planar bone scan was not significantly different between the two groups. In receiver operating characteristic curve analysis, SUV-AAZ/S showed the highest AUC of 0.992, followed by SUV50%/S and SUVmax/S. All ratio parameters of the SPECT/CT showed higher AUC values than the SUV parameters of SI joint or SI/S of the planar scan. Conclusions: The quantitative analyses of bone SPECT/CT showed better performance in assessing active sacroiliitis than the planar bone scan. SPECT/CT parameters using the ratio of the SI joint to sacrum showed more favorable results than SUV parameters such as SUVmax, SUV50%, and SUV-AAZ.

Radiomics analysis of gadoxetic acid-enhanced hepatobiliary phase images allows for accurate staging of liver fibrosis.

Background/AimTo analyse ultrawide-field fluorescein angiography (UWF-FA) images of diabetic retinopathy using a novel software that automatically calculates microaneurysm (MA) and non-perfusion area.MethodsTwo hundred UWF-FA images of treatment-nai¨ve diabetic retinopathy (38 proliferative diabetic retinopathy and 162 non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy) from 120 patients (mean age 54.22; 80 male) were analysed using novel software to determine the number of MAs, area of capillary non-perfusion (ischaemic index) and number of neovascularisations. Each result was compared according to its retinal regions.ResultsFor the total retina, the mean number of MAs was 292.02 (±175.57) and the ischaemic index was 59.42% (±14.78%). Most MAs were located in the mid-peripheral retina (80.54%); however, the density of MAs was highest in the posterior pole (p<0.001). The ischaemic index was highest in the peripheral retina (89.19%), followed by mid-periphery (50.65%) and posterior pole (1.85%). Patients with diabetic macular oedema (DME) presented more MA and a greater ischaemic index (p<0.001, each) than those without DME.ConclusionThe automated software allowed prompt and quantitative analysis of UWF-FA images of DMR. MAs were most frequent in the nasal and mid-peripheral retina, with their density being highest in the posterior pole and nasal retina. Ischaemic index increased with distance from the posterior pole, showing strong correlation with central foveal thickness in all retinal areas except the posterior pole.