Semi-automated software improves interrater reliability and reduces processing time of magnetic resonance imaging-based exocrine pancreatic assessments in pediatric patients

Abstract

Abstract Objectives Magnetic resonance (MR) imaging with secretin stimulation (MR-PFTs) is a non-invasive test for pancreatic exocrine function based on assessing the volume of secreted bowel fluid in vivo. Adoption of this methodology in clinical care and research is largely limited to qualitative assessment of secretion as current methods for secretory response quantification require manual thresholding and segmentation of MR images, which can be time-consuming and prone to interrater variability. We describe novel software (PFTquant) that preprocesses and thresholds MR images, performs heuristic detection of non-bowel fluid objects, and provides the user with intuitive semi-automated tools to segment and quantify bowel fluid in a fast and robust manner. We evaluate the performance of this software on a retrospective set of clinical MRIs. Methods Twenty MRIs performed in children (< 18 years) were processed independently by two observers using a manual technique and using PFTquant. Interrater agreement in measured secreted fluid volume was compared using intraclass correlation coefficients, Bland-Altman difference analysis, and Dice similarity coefficients. Results Interrater reliability of measured bowel fluid secretion using PFTquant was 0.90 (0.76–0.96 95% C.I.) with − 4.5 mL mean difference (-39.4–30.4 mL 95% limits of agreement) compared to 0.69 (0.36–0.86 95% C.I.) with − 0.9 mL mean difference (-77.3–75.5 mL 95% limits of agreement) for manual processing. Dice similarity coefficients were better using PFTquant (0.88 +/- 0.06) compared to manual processing (0.85 +/- 0.10) but not significantly (p = 0.11). Time to process was significantly (p < 0.001) faster using PFTquant (412 +/- 177 s) compared to manual processing (645 +/- 305 s). Conclusion Novel software provides fast, reliable quantification of secreted fluid volume in children undergoing MR-PFTs. Use of the novel software could facilitate wider adoption of quantitative MR-PFTs in clinical care and research.