A comparative evaluation of multiple enlarged perivascular space segmentation tools.
Authors
Affiliations (11)
Affiliations (11)
- Vanderbilt Memory and Alzheimer's Center, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN, USA; Vanderbilt Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, Nashville, TN, USA; Vanderbilt Brain Institute, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA. Electronic address: [email protected].
- Vanderbilt Memory and Alzheimer's Center, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN, USA; Vanderbilt Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, Nashville, TN, USA. Electronic address: [email protected].
- Vanderbilt Memory and Alzheimer's Center, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN, USA; Vanderbilt Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, Nashville, TN, USA; Department of Biostatistics, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA. Electronic address: [email protected].
- Vanderbilt Memory and Alzheimer's Center, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN, USA; Vanderbilt Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, Nashville, TN, USA. Electronic address: [email protected].
- Vanderbilt Memory and Alzheimer's Center, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN, USA; Vanderbilt Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, Nashville, TN, USA. Electronic address: [email protected].
- Vanderbilt Memory and Alzheimer's Center, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN, USA; Vanderbilt Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, Nashville, TN, USA. Electronic address: [email protected].
- Vanderbilt Memory and Alzheimer's Center, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN, USA; Vanderbilt Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, Nashville, TN, USA. Electronic address: [email protected].
- Vanderbilt Memory and Alzheimer's Center, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN, USA; Vanderbilt Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, Nashville, TN, USA; Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA; Department of Radiology and Radiological Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA; Department of Biomedical Engineering, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA. Electronic address: [email protected].
- Vanderbilt Memory and Alzheimer's Center, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN, USA; Vanderbilt Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, Nashville, TN, USA; Department of Radiology and Radiological Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA; Department of Neurology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA. Electronic address: [email protected].
- Vanderbilt Memory and Alzheimer's Center, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN, USA; Department of Neurology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA. Electronic address: [email protected].
- Vanderbilt Memory and Alzheimer's Center, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN, USA; Vanderbilt Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, Nashville, TN, USA; Vanderbilt Brain Institute, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA; Department of Neurology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA; Department of Medicine, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA. Electronic address: [email protected].
Abstract
Enlarged perivascular spaces (ePVS) are a marker of cerebral small vessel disease, potentially reflecting reduced waste clearance. Because manual quantification is unfeasible in large datasets, we developed and evaluated an automated tool. Detection Of Regions of Enlarged perivascular Spaces (DORES), a 3D nnU-Net-based deep learning algorithm was developed for ePVS segmentation using T<sub>1</sub>-weighted and fluid-attenuated inversion recovery magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). DORES was developed in two stages: an initial model trained on 35 manually segmented scans and a final model on 1460 pseudo-labeled sessions from the Vanderbilt Memory and Aging Project (VMAP). A subset of VMAP participants with 3 T brain MRI underwent whole-brain manual ePVS tracing (n = 35, 73 ± 9 years, 51% male) and visual rating (n = 388, 71 ± 8 years, 54% male) by a neuroradiologist. DORES was evaluated and compared against three other segmentation tools using Dice and F1 scores, absolute volume and element differences, correlation, and agreement. External validation used an Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative 3 subset with manual tracings (ADNI3, n = 18, 73 ± 9 years, 67% female). DORES achieved Dice scores of 0.61 ± 0.16 (white matter) and 0.72 ± 0.08 (basal ganglia) in VMAP, with strong correlations and agreement for ePVS count and volume. Performances modestly declined in ADNI3 across algorithms. Scanner-stratified analyses showed stronger correlations for Philips versus Siemens images in the basal ganglia, indicating scanner-dependent differences in measurement consistency. DORES provides a multimodal nnU-Net-based pipeline for ePVS segmentation in older adults. The model demonstrates robust within-cohort performance and reasonable external validity, though scanner-related effects limit application across sites.