Software for brain tumor diagnosis on magnetic resonance imaging

Abstract

BACKGROUND: The main reason for the development and implementation of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies in neuro-oncology is the high prevalence of brain tumors reaching up to 200 cases per 100,000 population. The incidence of a primary focus in the brain is 5%10%; however, 60%70% of those who die from malignant neoplasms have metastases in the brain. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is the most common method for primary non-invasive diagnosis of brain tumors and monitoring disease progression. One of the challenges is the classification of tumor types and determination of clinical parameters (size and volume) for the conduct, diagnosis, and treatment procedures, including surgery.
 AIM: To develope a software module for the differential diagnosis of brain neoplasms on MRI images.
 METHODS: The software module is based on the developed Siberian Brain Tumor Dataset (SBT), which contains information on over 1000 neurosurgical patients with fully verified (histologically and immunohistochemically) postoperative diagnoses. The data for research and development was presented by the Federal Neurosurgical Center (Novosibirsk). The module uses two- and three-dimensional computer vision models with pre-processed MRI sequence data included in the following packages: pre-contrast T1-weighted image (WI), post-contrast T1-WI, T2-WI, and T2-WI with fluid-attenuated inversion-recovery technique. The models allow to detect and recognize with high accuracy 4 types of neoplasms, such as meningioma, neurinoma, glioblastoma, and astrocytoma, and segment and distinguish components and sizes: ET (tumor core absorbing Gd-containing contrast), TC (tumor core) = ET + Necr (necrosis) + NenTu, and WT (whole tumor) = TC + Ed (peritumoral edema).
 RESULTS: The developed software module shows high segmentation results on SBT by Dice metric for ET 0.846, TC 0.867, WT 0.9174, Sens 0.881, and Spec 1.000 areas. The testing and validation were done at the international BraTS Challenge 2021 competition. The test dataset yielded DiceET 0.86588, DiceTC 0.86932, and DiceWT 0.921 values, placing the developed software module in the top ten. According to the classification, the results demonstrate high accuracy rates of up to 92% in patient analysis (up to 89% in slice analysis), a very high potential, and a perspective for future research in this area.
 CONCLUSIONS: The developed software module may be used for training specialists and in clinical diagnostics.