Basic Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2016. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Mar 28, 2016; 22(12): 3355-3362
Published online Mar 28, 2016. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v22.i12.3355
Ultrasound virtual endoscopy: Polyp detection and reliability of measurement in an in vitro study with pig intestine specimens
Jin-Ya Liu, Li-Da Chen, Hua-Song Cai, Jin-Yu Liang, Ming Xu, Yang Huang, Wei Li, Shi-Ting Feng, Xiao-Yan Xie, Ming-De Lu, Wei Wang
Jin-Ya Liu, Li-Da Chen, Jin-Yu Liang, Ming Xu, Yang Huang, Wei Li, Xiao-Yan Xie, Wei Wang, Ming-De Lu, Department of Medical Ultrasonics, Institute of Diagnostic and Interventional Ultrasound, The First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510080, Guangdong Province, China
Shi-Ting Feng, Hua-Song Cai, Department of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510080, Guangdong Province, China
Author contributions: Liu JY, Chen LD, Lu MD and Wang W designed the research; Liu JY, Chen LD, Feng ST, Liang JY, Xu M, Huang Y, Li W, Cai HS, Xie XY and Wang W performed the research; Liu JY, Chen LD, Wang W analyzed the data; Liu JY and Wang W wrote the paper.
Supported by The National Natural Science Foundation of China, No. 81271576.
Institutional review board statement: The study was reviewed and approved by The First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University Institutional Review Board.
Institutional animal care and use committee statement: The porcine intestine specimens used in this study were commercially available at an abattoir.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
Data sharing statement: No additional data are available.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: Wei Wang, MD, PhD, Department of Medical Ultrasonics, Institute of Diagnostic and Interventional Ultrasound, The First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University, Sun Yat-Sen University, No. 58, Zhongshan Road 2, Guangzhou 510080, Guangdong Province, China. wangw73@mail.sysu.edu.cn
Telephone: +86-20-87765183 Fax: +86-20-87765183
Received: July 31, 2015
Peer-review started: August 1, 2015
First decision: September 9, 2015
Revised: September 25, 2015
Accepted: December 12, 2015
Article in press: December 14, 2015
Published online: March 28, 2016
Processing time: 235 Days and 18.4 Hours
Abstract

AIM: To present our initial experience regarding the feasibility of ultrasound virtual endoscopy (USVE) and its measurement reliability for polyp detection in an in vitro study using pig intestine specimens.

METHODS: Six porcine intestine specimens containing 30 synthetic polyps underwent USVE, computed tomography colonography (CTC) and optical colonoscopy (OC) for polyp detection. The polyp measurement defined as the maximum polyp diameter on two-dimensional (2D) multiplanar reformatted (MPR) planes was obtained by USVE, and the absolute measurement error was analyzed using the direct measurement as the reference standard.

RESULTS: USVE detected 29 (96.7%) of 30 polyps, remaining a 7-mm one missed. There was one false-positive finding. Twenty-six (89.7%) of 29 reconstructed images were clearly depicted, while 29 (96.7%) of 30 polyps were displayed on CTC with one false-negative finding. In OC, all the polyps were detected. The intraclass correlation coefficient was 0.876 (95%CI: 0.745-0.940) for measurements obtained with USVE. The pooled absolute measurement errors ± the standard deviations of the depicted polyps with actual sizes ≤ 5 mm, 6-9 mm, and ≥ 10 mm were 1.9 ± 0.8 mm, 0.9 ± 1.2 mm, and 1.0 ± 1.4 mm, respectively.

CONCLUSION: USVE is reliable for polyp detection and measurement in in vitro study.

Keywords: Three-dimensional ultrasound; In vitro; Virtual endoscopy; Intestinal polyps; Technical feasibility

Core tip: We present our initial experience regarding the feasibility of ultrasound virtual endoscopy (USVE) and its measurement reliability for polyp detection in an in vitro study using pig intestine specimens. USVE is a new technique that simulates views of computed tomography colonography (CTC). We found that USVE is an accurate screening method for simulated polyp detection and compares favorably to CTC and optical colonoscopy. As a dynamic, non-invasive, radiation-free, cost-effective method, USVE shows great promise for the screening and surveillance of colorectal cancers.