Deep learning-based automation for segmentation and biometric measurement of the gestational sac in ultrasound images

IntroductionMonitoring the morphological features of the gestational sac (GS) and measuring the mean sac diameter (MSD) during early pregnancy are essential for predicting spontaneous miscarriage and estimating gestational age (GA). However, the manual process is labor-intensive and highly dependent...

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Main Authors: Hafiz Muhammad Danish, Zobia Suhail, Faiza Farooq
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2024-12-01
Series:Frontiers in Pediatrics
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Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fped.2024.1453302/full
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author Hafiz Muhammad Danish
Zobia Suhail
Faiza Farooq
author_facet Hafiz Muhammad Danish
Zobia Suhail
Faiza Farooq
author_sort Hafiz Muhammad Danish
collection DOAJ
description IntroductionMonitoring the morphological features of the gestational sac (GS) and measuring the mean sac diameter (MSD) during early pregnancy are essential for predicting spontaneous miscarriage and estimating gestational age (GA). However, the manual process is labor-intensive and highly dependent on the sonographer's expertise. This study aims to develop an automated pipeline to assist sonographers in accurately segmenting the GS and estimating GA.MethodsA novel dataset of 500 ultrasound (US) scans, taken between 4 and 10 weeks of gestation, was prepared. Four widely used fully convolutional neural networks: UNet, UNet++, DeepLabV3, and ResUNet were modified by replacing their encoders with a pre-trained ResNet50. These models were trained and evaluated using 5-fold cross-validation to identify the optimal approach for GS segmentation. Subsequently, novel biometry was introduced to assess GA automatically, and the system's performance was compared with that of sonographers.ResultsThe ResUNet model demonstrated the best performance among the tested architectures, achieving mean Intersection over Union (IoU), Dice, Recall, and Precision values of 0.946, 0.978, 0.987, and 0.958, respectively. The discrepancy between the GA estimations provided by the sonographers and the biometry algorithm was measured at a Mean Absolute Error (MAE) of 0.07 weeks.ConclusionThe proposed pipeline offers a precise and reliable alternative to conventional manual measurements for GS segmentation and GA estimation. Furthermore, its potential extends to segmenting and measuring other fetal components in future studies.
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spelling doaj-art-d4af12fa5e4d47b89986158c59e614112025-08-20T02:37:06ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Pediatrics2296-23602024-12-011210.3389/fped.2024.14533021453302Deep learning-based automation for segmentation and biometric measurement of the gestational sac in ultrasound imagesHafiz Muhammad Danish0Zobia Suhail1Faiza Farooq2Department of Computer Science, University of the Punjab, Lahore, PakistanDepartment of Computer Science, University of the Punjab, Lahore, PakistanDepartment of Radiology, University of Lahore Teaching Hospital, Lahore, PakistanIntroductionMonitoring the morphological features of the gestational sac (GS) and measuring the mean sac diameter (MSD) during early pregnancy are essential for predicting spontaneous miscarriage and estimating gestational age (GA). However, the manual process is labor-intensive and highly dependent on the sonographer's expertise. This study aims to develop an automated pipeline to assist sonographers in accurately segmenting the GS and estimating GA.MethodsA novel dataset of 500 ultrasound (US) scans, taken between 4 and 10 weeks of gestation, was prepared. Four widely used fully convolutional neural networks: UNet, UNet++, DeepLabV3, and ResUNet were modified by replacing their encoders with a pre-trained ResNet50. These models were trained and evaluated using 5-fold cross-validation to identify the optimal approach for GS segmentation. Subsequently, novel biometry was introduced to assess GA automatically, and the system's performance was compared with that of sonographers.ResultsThe ResUNet model demonstrated the best performance among the tested architectures, achieving mean Intersection over Union (IoU), Dice, Recall, and Precision values of 0.946, 0.978, 0.987, and 0.958, respectively. The discrepancy between the GA estimations provided by the sonographers and the biometry algorithm was measured at a Mean Absolute Error (MAE) of 0.07 weeks.ConclusionThe proposed pipeline offers a precise and reliable alternative to conventional manual measurements for GS segmentation and GA estimation. Furthermore, its potential extends to segmenting and measuring other fetal components in future studies.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fped.2024.1453302/fullgestational sacautomatic segmentationfetal biometryearly pregnancyultrasound imagesdeep learning
spellingShingle Hafiz Muhammad Danish
Zobia Suhail
Faiza Farooq
Deep learning-based automation for segmentation and biometric measurement of the gestational sac in ultrasound images
Frontiers in Pediatrics
gestational sac
automatic segmentation
fetal biometry
early pregnancy
ultrasound images
deep learning
title Deep learning-based automation for segmentation and biometric measurement of the gestational sac in ultrasound images
title_full Deep learning-based automation for segmentation and biometric measurement of the gestational sac in ultrasound images
title_fullStr Deep learning-based automation for segmentation and biometric measurement of the gestational sac in ultrasound images
title_full_unstemmed Deep learning-based automation for segmentation and biometric measurement of the gestational sac in ultrasound images
title_short Deep learning-based automation for segmentation and biometric measurement of the gestational sac in ultrasound images
title_sort deep learning based automation for segmentation and biometric measurement of the gestational sac in ultrasound images
topic gestational sac
automatic segmentation
fetal biometry
early pregnancy
ultrasound images
deep learning
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fped.2024.1453302/full
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AT zobiasuhail deeplearningbasedautomationforsegmentationandbiometricmeasurementofthegestationalsacinultrasoundimages
AT faizafarooq deeplearningbasedautomationforsegmentationandbiometricmeasurementofthegestationalsacinultrasoundimages