A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal
Comparative Study With New Accuracy Metrics for Target Volume Contouring in PET Image Guided Radiation Therapy
Authors: Shepherd T, Teras M, Beichel RR, Boellaard R, Bruynooghe M, Dicken V, Gooding MJ, Julyan PJ, Lee JA, Lefevre S, Mix M, Naranjo V, Wu XD, Zaidi H, Zeng ZM, Minn H
Publisher: IEEE-INST ELECTRICAL ELECTRONICS ENGINEERS INC
Publication year: 2012
Journal: IEEE Transactions on Medical Imaging
Journal name in source: IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON MEDICAL IMAGING
Journal acronym: IEEE T MED IMAGING
Number in series: 11
Volume: 31
Issue: 11
First page : 2006
Last page: 2024
Number of pages: 19
ISSN: 0278-0062
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/TMI.2012.2202322
Abstract
The impact of positron emission tomography (PET) on radiation therapy is held back by poor methods of defining functional volumes of interest. Many new software tools are being proposed for contouring target volumes but the different approaches are not adequately compared and their accuracy is poorly evaluated due to the ill-definition of ground truth. This paper compares the largest cohort to date of established, emerging and proposed PET contouring methods, in terms of accuracy and variability. We emphasize spatial accuracy and present a new metric that addresses the lack of unique ground truth. Thirty methods are used at 13 different institutions to contour functional volumes of interest in clinical PET/CT and a custom-built PET phantom representing typical problems in image guided radiotherapy. Contouring methods are grouped according to algorithmic type, level of interactivity and how they exploit structural information in hybrid images. Experiments reveal benefits of high levels of user interaction, as well as simultaneous visualization of CT images and PET gradients to guide interactive procedures. Method-wise evaluation identifies the danger of over-automation and the value of prior knowledge built into an algorithm.
The impact of positron emission tomography (PET) on radiation therapy is held back by poor methods of defining functional volumes of interest. Many new software tools are being proposed for contouring target volumes but the different approaches are not adequately compared and their accuracy is poorly evaluated due to the ill-definition of ground truth. This paper compares the largest cohort to date of established, emerging and proposed PET contouring methods, in terms of accuracy and variability. We emphasize spatial accuracy and present a new metric that addresses the lack of unique ground truth. Thirty methods are used at 13 different institutions to contour functional volumes of interest in clinical PET/CT and a custom-built PET phantom representing typical problems in image guided radiotherapy. Contouring methods are grouped according to algorithmic type, level of interactivity and how they exploit structural information in hybrid images. Experiments reveal benefits of high levels of user interaction, as well as simultaneous visualization of CT images and PET gradients to guide interactive procedures. Method-wise evaluation identifies the danger of over-automation and the value of prior knowledge built into an algorithm.
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