Automatic Measurement of Frontomaxillary Facial Angle in Fetal Ultrasound Images Using Deep Learning

Accurate measurement of frontomaxillary facial (FMF) angles in prenatal ultrasound (US) scans plays a pivotal role in the screening of trisomy 21. Nevertheless, this intricate procedure heavily relies on the proficiency of the ultrasonographer and tends to be a time-intensive task. Furthermore, FMF...

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Main Authors: Zhonghua Liu, Jin Wang, Guorong Lyu, Haisheng Song, Weifeng Yu, Peizhong Liu, Yuling Fan, Yaocheng Wan
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-01-01
Series:Sensors
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/25/3/633
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author Zhonghua Liu
Jin Wang
Guorong Lyu
Haisheng Song
Weifeng Yu
Peizhong Liu
Yuling Fan
Yaocheng Wan
author_facet Zhonghua Liu
Jin Wang
Guorong Lyu
Haisheng Song
Weifeng Yu
Peizhong Liu
Yuling Fan
Yaocheng Wan
author_sort Zhonghua Liu
collection DOAJ
description Accurate measurement of frontomaxillary facial (FMF) angles in prenatal ultrasound (US) scans plays a pivotal role in the screening of trisomy 21. Nevertheless, this intricate procedure heavily relies on the proficiency of the ultrasonographer and tends to be a time-intensive task. Furthermore, FMF angles are subjective when measured manually. To address this challenge, we propose a deep learning-based assisted examination framework for automatically measuring FMF angles on 2D ultrasound images. Firstly, we trained a deep learning network using 1549 fetal ultrasound images to achieve automatic and accurate segmentation of critical areas. Subsequently, a key point detection network was employed to predict the coordinates of the requisite points for calculating FMF angles. Finally, FMF angles were obtained through computational means. We employed Pearson correlation coefficients and Bland–Altman plots to assess the correlation and consistency between the model’s predictions and manual measurements. Notably, our method exhibited a mean absolute error of 2.354°, outperforming the typical standards of the junior expert. This indicates the high degree of accuracy and reliability achieved by our approach.
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spelling doaj-art-4f8cfa0684514de3b4fdd71df0610c232025-08-20T02:12:29ZengMDPI AGSensors1424-82202025-01-0125363310.3390/s25030633Automatic Measurement of Frontomaxillary Facial Angle in Fetal Ultrasound Images Using Deep LearningZhonghua Liu0Jin Wang1Guorong Lyu2Haisheng Song3Weifeng Yu4Peizhong Liu5Yuling Fan6Yaocheng Wan7Department of Ultrasound, Quanzhou First Hospital Affiliated to Fujian Medical University, Quanzhou 350122, ChinaSchool of Physics and Electronic Engineering, Northwest Normal University, Lanzhou 730070, ChinaDepartment of Ultrasound, Second Affiliated Hospital of Fujian Medical University, Quanzhou 362000, ChinaSchool of Physics and Electronic Engineering, Northwest Normal University, Lanzhou 730070, ChinaDepartment of Ultrasound, Quanzhou First Hospital Affiliated to Fujian Medical University, Quanzhou 350122, ChinaSchool of Engineering, Huaqiao University, Quanzhou 362021, ChinaSchool of Engineering, Huaqiao University, Quanzhou 362021, ChinaSchool of Electronic and Information Engineering, Changchun University of Science and Technology, Changchun 130022, ChinaAccurate measurement of frontomaxillary facial (FMF) angles in prenatal ultrasound (US) scans plays a pivotal role in the screening of trisomy 21. Nevertheless, this intricate procedure heavily relies on the proficiency of the ultrasonographer and tends to be a time-intensive task. Furthermore, FMF angles are subjective when measured manually. To address this challenge, we propose a deep learning-based assisted examination framework for automatically measuring FMF angles on 2D ultrasound images. Firstly, we trained a deep learning network using 1549 fetal ultrasound images to achieve automatic and accurate segmentation of critical areas. Subsequently, a key point detection network was employed to predict the coordinates of the requisite points for calculating FMF angles. Finally, FMF angles were obtained through computational means. We employed Pearson correlation coefficients and Bland–Altman plots to assess the correlation and consistency between the model’s predictions and manual measurements. Notably, our method exhibited a mean absolute error of 2.354°, outperforming the typical standards of the junior expert. This indicates the high degree of accuracy and reliability achieved by our approach.https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/25/3/633automatic measurementdeep learningsemantic segmentationultrasound image
spellingShingle Zhonghua Liu
Jin Wang
Guorong Lyu
Haisheng Song
Weifeng Yu
Peizhong Liu
Yuling Fan
Yaocheng Wan
Automatic Measurement of Frontomaxillary Facial Angle in Fetal Ultrasound Images Using Deep Learning
Sensors
automatic measurement
deep learning
semantic segmentation
ultrasound image
title Automatic Measurement of Frontomaxillary Facial Angle in Fetal Ultrasound Images Using Deep Learning
title_full Automatic Measurement of Frontomaxillary Facial Angle in Fetal Ultrasound Images Using Deep Learning
title_fullStr Automatic Measurement of Frontomaxillary Facial Angle in Fetal Ultrasound Images Using Deep Learning
title_full_unstemmed Automatic Measurement of Frontomaxillary Facial Angle in Fetal Ultrasound Images Using Deep Learning
title_short Automatic Measurement of Frontomaxillary Facial Angle in Fetal Ultrasound Images Using Deep Learning
title_sort automatic measurement of frontomaxillary facial angle in fetal ultrasound images using deep learning
topic automatic measurement
deep learning
semantic segmentation
ultrasound image
url https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/25/3/633
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