Department of Allergology, University Clinical Centre, Medical University of Gdansk, Gdansk, Poland.
Eur J Radiol. 2012 Feb;81(2):379-83. doi: 10.1016/j.ejrad.2010.12.033. Epub 2011 Jan 15.
Recently, we described a model system which included corrections of high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) bronchial measurements based on the adjusted subpixel method (ASM).
To verify the clinical application of ASM by comparing bronchial measurements obtained by means of the traditional eye-driven method, subpixel method alone and ASM in a group comprised of bronchial asthma patients and healthy individuals.
The study included 30 bronchial asthma patients and the control group comprised of 20 volunteers with no symptoms of asthma. The lowest internal and external diameters of the bronchial cross-sections (ID and ED) and their derivative parameters were determined in HRCT scans using: (1) traditional eye-driven method, (2) subpixel technique, and (3) ASM.
In the case of the eye-driven method, lower ID values along with lower bronchial lumen area and its percentage ratio to total bronchial area were basic parameters that differed between asthma patients and healthy controls. In the case of the subpixel method and ASM, both groups were not significantly different in terms of ID. Significant differences were observed in values of ED and total bronchial area with both parameters being significantly higher in asthma patients. Compared to ASM, the eye-driven method overstated the values of ID and ED by about 30% and 10% respectively, while understating bronchial wall thickness by about 18%.
Results obtained in this study suggest that the traditional eye-driven method of HRCT-based measurement of bronchial tree components probably overstates the degree of bronchial patency in asthma patients.
最近，我们描述了一个模型系统，该系统包括基于调整亚像素法（ASM）校正高分辨率计算机断层扫描（HRCT）支气管测量值。
通过比较支气管哮喘患者和健康个体中使用传统眼驱动方法、单独亚像素方法和 ASM 获得的支气管测量值，验证 ASM 的临床应用。
该研究纳入了 30 例支气管哮喘患者和 20 例无哮喘症状的健康志愿者作为对照组。在 HRCT 扫描中使用以下三种方法确定支气管横截面的最低内直径（ID）和外直径（ED）及其衍生参数：（1）传统眼驱动方法，（2）亚像素技术，（3）ASM。
在眼驱动方法中，较低的 ID 值以及较低的支气管腔面积及其占总支气管面积的百分比是哮喘患者和健康对照组之间存在差异的基本参数。在亚像素方法和 ASM 的情况下，两组的 ID 值无显著差异。ED 和总支气管面积的数值存在显著差异，两组患者的 ED 和总支气管面积均显著较高。与 ASM 相比，眼驱动方法高估了 ID 和 ED 值约 30%和 10%，同时低估了支气管壁厚度约 18%。
本研究结果表明，基于 HRCT 的支气管树成分的传统眼驱动方法可能高估了哮喘患者的支气管通畅度。
