Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Faculty of Medicine, Kindai University, 337-2 Ohno-higashi, Osaka-sayama, Osaka, 589-8511, Japan.
Department of Human Health Sciences, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan.
Hepatol Int. 2019 Jul;13(4):416-421. doi: 10.1007/s12072-019-09937-4. Epub 2019 Feb 21.
An ultrasound (US) examination is a common noninvasive technique widely applied for diagnosis of a variety of diseases. Based on the rapid development of US equipment, many US images have been accumulated and are now available and ready for the preparation of a database for the development of computer-aided US diagnosis with deep learning technology. On the contrary, because of the unique characteristics of the US image, there could be some issues that need to be resolved for the establishment of computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) system in this field. For example, compared to the other modalities, the quality of a US image is, currently, highly operator dependent; the conditions of examination should also directly affect the quality of US images. So far, these factors have hampered the application of deep learning-based technology in the field of US diagnosis. However, the development of CAD and US technologies will contribute to an increase in diagnostic quality, facilitate the development of remote medicine, and reduce the costs in the national health care through the early diagnosis of diseases. From this point of view, it may have a large enough potential to induce a paradigm shift in the field of US imaging and diagnosis of liver diseases.
超声（US）检查是一种常见的非侵入性技术，广泛应用于各种疾病的诊断。基于超声设备的快速发展，已经积累了大量的超声图像，现在可以为开发基于深度学习技术的计算机辅助超声诊断数据库做准备。相反，由于超声图像的独特特点，在该领域建立计算机辅助诊断（CAD）系统可能需要解决一些问题。例如，与其他模态相比，超声图像的质量目前高度依赖于操作人员；检查条件也应直接影响超声图像的质量。到目前为止，这些因素一直阻碍着基于深度学习的技术在超声诊断领域的应用。然而，CAD 和 US 技术的发展将有助于提高诊断质量，促进远程医疗的发展，并通过早期诊断疾病降低国家医疗保健成本。从这个角度来看，它可能有足够大的潜力引发 US 成像和肝脏疾病诊断领域的范式转变。
