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Quantitative tissue echogenicity of the neonatal brain assessed by ultrasound imaging

Padilla, Nelly F. ; Enriquez, Goya ; Jansson, Tomas LU ; Gratacos, Eduard and Hernandez-Andrade, Edgar (2009) In Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology 35(9). p.1421-1426
Abstract
The aim of this study was to propose a method for measuring the echogenicity of several neonatal brain structures for quantitative interpretation of ultrasound images. To do this, 40 preterm neonates (24-34 weeks' gestation) with adequate birth weight for gestational age were studied. On the third day after delivery, anterior fontanelle ultrasound imaging of the brain was performed in standard coronal and sagittal views. Four regions-of-interest (ROIs) were identified: periventricular, choroid plexus, cerebellar vermis and basal ganglia. Two consecutive images from each ROI were digitally stored. For off-line analysis, the ROI corresponding to each structure was delineated and the mean pixel brightness (PB) calculated. In addition, the... (More)
The aim of this study was to propose a method for measuring the echogenicity of several neonatal brain structures for quantitative interpretation of ultrasound images. To do this, 40 preterm neonates (24-34 weeks' gestation) with adequate birth weight for gestational age were studied. On the third day after delivery, anterior fontanelle ultrasound imaging of the brain was performed in standard coronal and sagittal views. Four regions-of-interest (ROIs) were identified: periventricular, choroid plexus, cerebellar vermis and basal ganglia. Two consecutive images from each ROI were digitally stored. For off-line analysis, the ROI corresponding to each structure was delineated and the mean pixel brightness (PB) calculated. In addition, the brightness of hone tissue obtained at the same depth of the studied ROI was calculated. This value was considered as the maximum possible echogenicity for that individual image. The relative echogenicity (RE) was then calculated as: PB ROI/PB BONE*100. Differences in RE between the ROIs and RE variations according to gestational age and reliability reproducibility were determined. We found that among the studied structures, RE values (mean/SD) were significantly higher in the choroid plexus (mean [SD] 56.38 [6.0] and in the cerebellar vermis 51.20 [6.0] than in the basal ganglia 37.29 [5.7] and the periventricular area 37.04 [5.6]) (p < 0.05). These values showed no variation in relation to gestational age at birth. Interobserver reproducibility was 0.91 in the choroid plexus, 0.89 in the cerebellar vermis, 0.82 in basal ganglia and 0.77 in the anterior periventricular area. In conclusion, semiquantitative estimation of RE offers a reproducible method for evaluating at-risk areas of the neonatal brain. (E-mail: fpadilla@clinic.ub.es) Published by Elsevier Inc. on behalf of World Federation for Ultrasound in Medicine & Biology. (Less)
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author
; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Pixel brightness, Quantification, analysis, Digital, Tissue relative echogenicity, Ultrasound, Neonatal brain
in
Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology
volume
35
issue
9
pages
1421 - 1426
publisher
Elsevier
external identifiers
  • wos:000269772400002
  • scopus:68949159817
  • pmid:19632762
ISSN
0301-5629
DOI
10.1016/j.ultrasmedbio.2009.04.014
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
93a99aa8-d8a3-45f7-aa45-adc1f91f4af8 (old id 1490817)
date added to LUP
2016-04-01 11:32:42
date last changed
2025-04-04 14:05:09
@article{93a99aa8-d8a3-45f7-aa45-adc1f91f4af8,
  abstract     = {{The aim of this study was to propose a method for measuring the echogenicity of several neonatal brain structures for quantitative interpretation of ultrasound images. To do this, 40 preterm neonates (24-34 weeks' gestation) with adequate birth weight for gestational age were studied. On the third day after delivery, anterior fontanelle ultrasound imaging of the brain was performed in standard coronal and sagittal views. Four regions-of-interest (ROIs) were identified: periventricular, choroid plexus, cerebellar vermis and basal ganglia. Two consecutive images from each ROI were digitally stored. For off-line analysis, the ROI corresponding to each structure was delineated and the mean pixel brightness (PB) calculated. In addition, the brightness of hone tissue obtained at the same depth of the studied ROI was calculated. This value was considered as the maximum possible echogenicity for that individual image. The relative echogenicity (RE) was then calculated as: PB ROI/PB BONE*100. Differences in RE between the ROIs and RE variations according to gestational age and reliability reproducibility were determined. We found that among the studied structures, RE values (mean/SD) were significantly higher in the choroid plexus (mean [SD] 56.38 [6.0] and in the cerebellar vermis 51.20 [6.0] than in the basal ganglia 37.29 [5.7] and the periventricular area 37.04 [5.6]) (p &lt; 0.05). These values showed no variation in relation to gestational age at birth. Interobserver reproducibility was 0.91 in the choroid plexus, 0.89 in the cerebellar vermis, 0.82 in basal ganglia and 0.77 in the anterior periventricular area. In conclusion, semiquantitative estimation of RE offers a reproducible method for evaluating at-risk areas of the neonatal brain. (E-mail: fpadilla@clinic.ub.es) Published by Elsevier Inc. on behalf of World Federation for Ultrasound in Medicine &amp; Biology.}},
  author       = {{Padilla, Nelly F. and Enriquez, Goya and Jansson, Tomas and Gratacos, Eduard and Hernandez-Andrade, Edgar}},
  issn         = {{0301-5629}},
  keywords     = {{Pixel brightness; Quantification; analysis; Digital; Tissue relative echogenicity; Ultrasound; Neonatal brain}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{9}},
  pages        = {{1421--1426}},
  publisher    = {{Elsevier}},
  series       = {{Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology}},
  title        = {{Quantitative tissue echogenicity of the neonatal brain assessed by ultrasound imaging}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ultrasmedbio.2009.04.014}},
  doi          = {{10.1016/j.ultrasmedbio.2009.04.014}},
  volume       = {{35}},
  year         = {{2009}},
}