Anthropometric Landmarking for Diagnosis of Cranial Deformities: Validation of an Automatic Approach and Comparison with Intra- and Interobserver Variability

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

Abstract

Shape analysis of infant’s heads is crucial to diagnose cranial deformities and evaluate head growth. Currently available 3D imaging systems can be used to create 3D head models, promoting the clinical practice for head evaluation. However, manual analysis of 3D shapes is difficult and operator-dependent, causing inaccuracies in the analysis. This study aims to validate an automatic landmark detection method for head shape analysis. The detection results were compared with manual analysis in three levels: (1) distance error of landmarks; (2) accuracy of standard cranial measurements, namely cephalic ratio (CR), cranial vault asymmetry index (CVAI), and overall symmetry ratio (OSR); and (3) accuracy of the final diagnosis of cranial deformities. For each level, the intra- and interobserver variability was also studied by comparing manual landmark settings. High landmark detection accuracy was achieved by the method in 166 head models. A very strong agreement with manual analysis for the cranial measurements was also obtained, with intraclass correlation coefficients of 0.997, 0.961, and 0.771 for the CR, CVAI, and OSR. 91% agreement with manual analysis was achieved in the diagnosis of cranial deformities. Considering its high accuracy and reliability in different evaluation levels, the method showed to be feasible for use in clinical practice for head shape analysis. Graphical Abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.].

Details

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1022-1037
Number of pages16
JournalAnnals of biomedical engineering
Volume50
Issue number9
Publication statusPublished - Sept 2022
Peer-reviewedYes

External IDs

PubMed 35622207

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Keywords

  • Anthropometric measurements, Automatic landmark detection, Cranial deformities, Head shape analysis, Observer variability