Back to all papers

Deep Learning-based Quantification of Knee Effusion-Synovitis Volume on MRI - Technique Development and Validation.

June 22, 2026pubmed logopapers

Authors

Marth AA,Liu F,Pan E,Fields BKK,Joseph GB,Hoyer G,Lynch JA,Lane NE,McCulloch CE,Nevitt MC,Link TM

Affiliations (11)

  • Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, University of California, San Francisco, USA; Department of Radiology, Balgrist University Hospital, Zurich, Switzerland; Medical Faculty, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland. Electronic address: [email protected].
  • Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, University of California, San Francisco, USA. Electronic address: [email protected].
  • Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, University of California, San Francisco, USA. Electronic address: [email protected].
  • Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, University of California, San Francisco, USA. Electronic address: [email protected].
  • Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, University of California, San Francisco, USA. Electronic address: [email protected].
  • Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, University of California, San Francisco, USA; Department of Bioengineering, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA; Department of Bioengineering, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA. Electronic address: [email protected].
  • Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California, San Francisco, USA. Electronic address: [email protected].
  • Department of Internal Medicine, U.C. Davis Health, Sacramento, California, USA. Electronic address: [email protected].
  • Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California, San Francisco, USA. Electronic address: [email protected].
  • Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California, San Francisco, USA. Electronic address: [email protected].
  • Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, University of California, San Francisco, USA. Electronic address: [email protected].

Abstract

To develop and validate a deep learning (DL) model for automatic quantification of knee effusion-synovitis volume (ESV) on MRI, assess correlations of ESV with semiquantitative effusion-synovitis (sqES) scores, and compare associations of ESV and sqES with MRI features and symptoms of knee osteoarthritis. A DL model was developed to quantify ESV on baseline right-knee MRI from the Osteoarthritis Initiative (n=4,698), which was trained and tested using manual segmentations from 101 randomly selected knees. Dice coefficients were used to quantify segmentation performance. Spearman correlations were computed between ESV and sqES scores from Whole-Organ Magnetic Resonance Imaging Score (WORMS<sub>ES</sub>) and MRI Osteoarthritis Knee Score (MOAKS<sub>ES</sub>). Paired differences in standardized β coefficients (Δβ<sub>std</sub>) from linear models were used to compare associations of ESV with tissue-specific WORMS scores and the total score of the Western Ontario McMaster Universities Arthritis Index (WOMAC). The DL model achieved a mean Dice coefficient of 0.79 (95% Confidence Interval [CI] 0.71-0.86) on the test set. ESV showed moderate correlations with WORMS<sub>ES</sub> (ρ=0.50, 95% CI 0.47-0.53) and MOAKS<sub>ES</sub> (ρ=0.65, 95% CI 0.63-0.67) and demonstrated larger effect sizes for associations with WORMS features (minimum Δβ<sub>std</sub>=0.03 [95% CI 0.00-0.07]) and knee OA symptoms (minimum Δβ<sub>std</sub>=0.03 [95% CI 0.00-0.07]) than sqES scores. A DL model for automated quantification of knee ESV on MRI was developed and validated. While our results demonstrate the potential of ESV as a scalable imaging biomarker in osteoarthritis research, validation in independent cohorts is necessary to confirm its utility.

Topics

Journal Article

Ready to Sharpen Your Edge?

Subscribe to join 11k+ peers who rely on RadAI Slice. Get the essential weekly briefing that empowers you to navigate the future of radiology.

We respect your privacy. Unsubscribe at any time.