Automatic segmentation of colorectal liver metastases for ultrasound-based navigated resection

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Natali, Tiziano, Olthof, Karin A., Kok, Niels F. M., Kuhlmann, Koert F. D., Ruers, Theo J. M., Fusaglia, Matteo
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Natali, Tiziano
Olthof, Karin A.
Kok, Niels F. M.
Kuhlmann, Koert F. D.
Ruers, Theo J. M.
Fusaglia, Matteo
author_facet Natali, Tiziano
Olthof, Karin A.
Kok, Niels F. M.
Kuhlmann, Koert F. D.
Ruers, Theo J. M.
Fusaglia, Matteo
contents Introduction: Accurate intraoperative delineation of colorectal liver metastases (CRLM) is crucial for achieving negative resection margins but remains challenging using intraoperative ultrasound (iUS) due to low contrast, noise, and operator dependency. Automated segmentation could enhance precision and efficiency in ultrasound-based navigation workflows. Methods: Eighty-five tracked 3D iUS volumes from 85 CRLM patients were used to train and evaluate a 3D U-Net implemented via the nnU-Net framework. Two variants were compared: one trained on full iUS volumes and another on cropped regions around tumors. Segmentation accuracy was assessed using Dice Similarity Coefficient (DSC), Hausdorff Distance (HDist.), and Relative Volume Difference (RVD) on retrospective and prospective datasets. The workflow was integrated into 3D Slicer for real-time intraoperative use. Results: The cropped-volume model significantly outperformed the full-volume model across all metrics (AUC-ROC = 0.898 vs 0.718). It achieved median DSC = 0.74, recall = 0.79, and HDist. = 17.1 mm comparable to semi-automatic segmentation but with ~4x faster execution (~ 1 min). Prospective intraoperative testing confirmed robust and consistent performance, with clinically acceptable accuracy for real-time surgical guidance. Conclusion: Automatic 3D segmentation of CRLM in iUS using a cropped 3D U-Net provides reliable, near real-time results with minimal operator input. The method enables efficient, registration-free ultrasound-based navigation for hepatic surgery, approaching expert-level accuracy while substantially reducing manual workload and procedure time.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2511_05253
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Automatic segmentation of colorectal liver metastases for ultrasound-based navigated resection
Natali, Tiziano
Olthof, Karin A.
Kok, Niels F. M.
Kuhlmann, Koert F. D.
Ruers, Theo J. M.
Fusaglia, Matteo
Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition
Image and Video Processing
Introduction: Accurate intraoperative delineation of colorectal liver metastases (CRLM) is crucial for achieving negative resection margins but remains challenging using intraoperative ultrasound (iUS) due to low contrast, noise, and operator dependency. Automated segmentation could enhance precision and efficiency in ultrasound-based navigation workflows. Methods: Eighty-five tracked 3D iUS volumes from 85 CRLM patients were used to train and evaluate a 3D U-Net implemented via the nnU-Net framework. Two variants were compared: one trained on full iUS volumes and another on cropped regions around tumors. Segmentation accuracy was assessed using Dice Similarity Coefficient (DSC), Hausdorff Distance (HDist.), and Relative Volume Difference (RVD) on retrospective and prospective datasets. The workflow was integrated into 3D Slicer for real-time intraoperative use. Results: The cropped-volume model significantly outperformed the full-volume model across all metrics (AUC-ROC = 0.898 vs 0.718). It achieved median DSC = 0.74, recall = 0.79, and HDist. = 17.1 mm comparable to semi-automatic segmentation but with ~4x faster execution (~ 1 min). Prospective intraoperative testing confirmed robust and consistent performance, with clinically acceptable accuracy for real-time surgical guidance. Conclusion: Automatic 3D segmentation of CRLM in iUS using a cropped 3D U-Net provides reliable, near real-time results with minimal operator input. The method enables efficient, registration-free ultrasound-based navigation for hepatic surgery, approaching expert-level accuracy while substantially reducing manual workload and procedure time.
title Automatic segmentation of colorectal liver metastases for ultrasound-based navigated resection
topic Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition
Image and Video Processing
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2511.05253