Optical coherence tomography combined with convolutional neural networks can differentiate between intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma and liver parenchyma ex vivo

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

  • Laura I. Wolff - , RWTH Aachen University (Author)
  • Enno Hachgenei - , Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology (Author)
  • Paul Goßmann - , RWTH Aachen University (Author)
  • Mariia Druzenko - , RWTH Aachen University (Author)
  • Maik Frye - , Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology (Author)
  • Niels König - , Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology (Author)
  • Robert H. Schmitt - , Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology, RWTH Aachen University (Author)
  • Alexandros Chrysos - , RWTH Aachen University (Author)
  • Katharina Jöchle - , RWTH Aachen University (Author)
  • Daniel Truhn - , RWTH Aachen University (Author)
  • Jakob Nikolas Kather - , Else Kröner Fresenius Center for Digital Health, RWTH Aachen University (Author)
  • Andreas Lambertz - , RWTH Aachen University (Author)
  • Nadine T. Gaisa - , RWTH Aachen University (Author)
  • Danny Jonigk - , RWTH Aachen University, Biomedical Research in Endstage and Obstructive Lung Disease Hannover (BREATH) - DZL Hannover (Author)
  • Tom F. Ulmer - , RWTH Aachen University (Author)
  • Ulf P. Neumann - , RWTH Aachen University (Author)
  • Sven A. Lang - , RWTH Aachen University (Author)
  • Iakovos Amygdalos - , RWTH Aachen University (Author)

Abstract

Purpose: Surgical resection with complete tumor excision (R0) provides the best chance of long-term survival for patients with intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (iCCA). A non-invasive imaging technology, which could provide quick intraoperative assessment of resection margins, as an adjunct to histological examination, is optical coherence tomography (OCT). In this study, we investigated the ability of OCT combined with convolutional neural networks (CNN), to differentiate iCCA from normal liver parenchyma ex vivo. Methods: Consecutive adult patients undergoing elective liver resections for iCCA between June 2020 and April 2021 (n = 11) were included in this study. Areas of interest from resection specimens were scanned ex vivo, before formalin fixation, using a table-top OCT device at 1310 nm wavelength. Scanned areas were marked and histologically examined, providing a diagnosis for each scan. An Xception CNN was trained, validated, and tested in matching OCT scans to their corresponding histological diagnoses, through a 5 × 5 stratified cross-validation process. Results: Twenty-four three-dimensional scans (corresponding to approx. 85,603 individual) from ten patients were included in the analysis. In 5 × 5 cross-validation, the model achieved a mean F1-score, sensitivity, and specificity of 0.94, 0.94, and 0.93, respectively. Conclusion: Optical coherence tomography combined with CNN can differentiate iCCA from liver parenchyma ex vivo. Further studies are necessary to expand on these results and lead to innovative in vivo OCT applications, such as intraoperative or endoscopic scanning.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)7877-7885
Number of pages9
JournalJournal of cancer research and clinical oncology
Volume149
Issue number10
Publication statusPublished - 12 Aug 2023
Peer-reviewedYes

External IDs

PubMed 37046121

Keywords

Sustainable Development Goals

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Keywords

  • Cholangiocarcinoma, Computer neural networks, Deep learning, Intrahepatic bile ducts, Machine learning, Optical coherence tomography, Neural Networks, Computer, Bile Duct Neoplasms/diagnostic imaging, Humans, Cholangiocarcinoma/diagnostic imaging, Tomography, Optical Coherence/methods, Adult, Bile Ducts, Intrahepatic/diagnostic imaging, Liver/diagnostic imaging

Library keywords