Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Florence, Via di Santa Marta 3, 50139, Florence, Italy.
Children's Hospital A. Meyer of Florence, Viale Gaetano Pieraccini, 24, 50139, Florence, Italy.
Med Biol Eng Comput. 2019 Aug;57(8):1727-1735. doi: 10.1007/s11517-019-01993-0. Epub 2019 Jun 1.
To date, standard methods for assessing the severity of chest wall deformities are mostly linked to X-ray and CT scans. However, the use of radiations limits their use when there is a need to monitor the development of the pathology over time. This is particularly important when dealing with patients suffering from Pectus Carinatum, whose treatment mainly requires the use of corrective braces and a systematic supervision. In recent years, the assessment of severity of chest deformities by means of radiation-free devices became increasingly popular but not yet adopted as standard clinical practice. The present study aims to define an objective measure by defining a severity index (named External Pectus Carinatum Index) used to monitor the course of the disease during treatment. Computed on the optical acquisition of the patients' chest by means of an appositely devised, fast and easy-to-use, body scanner, the proposed index has been validated on a sample composed of a control group and a group of Pectus Carinatum patients. The index proved to be reliable and accurate in the characterization of the pathology, enabling the definition of a threshold that allows to distinguish the cases of patients with PC from those of healthy subjects. Graphical abstract.
迄今为止，评估胸壁畸形严重程度的标准方法主要与 X 射线和 CT 扫描相关。然而，由于需要监测病理随时间的发展，辐射的使用限制了其应用。当涉及患有鸡胸畸形的患者时，这一点尤为重要，他们的治疗主要需要使用矫正支具和系统监护。近年来，通过无辐射设备评估胸壁畸形的严重程度变得越来越流行，但尚未被采纳为标准临床实践。本研究旨在通过定义一个严重程度指数（命名为“外部鸡胸畸形指数”）来定义一个客观的衡量标准，用于在治疗过程中监测疾病的进程。该指数是通过专门设计的快速易用的身体扫描仪对患者胸部的光学采集进行计算得出的，已在由对照组和一组鸡胸畸形患者组成的样本中进行了验证。该指数在病理特征化方面表现出可靠和准确，能够定义一个阈值，以区分鸡胸畸形患者和健康受试者的病例。
