Giacalone Vincenzo, Civilini Vittoria, Audenino Alberto L, Terzini Mara
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Politecnico di Torino, Turin 10129, Italy; Polito(BIO)Med Lab, Politecnico di Torino, Turin 10129, Italy.
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Politecnico di Torino, Turin 10129, Italy; Polito(BIO)Med Lab, Politecnico di Torino, Turin 10129, Italy.
Comput Methods Programs Biomed. 2023 Dec;242:107850. doi: 10.1016/j.cmpb.2023.107850. Epub 2023 Oct 9.
Surgical meshes have demonstrated greater reliability compared to suture repair for abdominal wall hernia treatment. However, questions remain regarding the properties of these devices and their influence on surgical outcomes. Morphological properties, including pore size and porosity, play a crucial role in mesh integration and encapsulation. In this study, we introduce a straightforward image analysis procedure for accurately calculating both textile porosity and effective porosity. The latter specifically considers pores that prevent bridging, providing valuable insights into mesh performance.
A photographic setup was established to capture high-quality images of the meshes, accompanied by calibration images necessary for computing the effective porosity. The developed image analysis procedure comprises seven steps focused on improving the binarization process's quality, followed by the computation of textile and effective porosities. To facilitate usability, an app called "poreScanner" was designed using MATLAB app designer, guiding users through the algorithm described herein. The app was used to compute both porosities on 24 meshes sourced from various manufacturers, by averaging seven measurements obtained from as many images. The app's measurement stability was validated computing the coefficient of variation for both textile and effective porosity, for a total of 36 results (24 for the textile porosity and 12 for the effective one). Additionally, different operators independently tested one heavy and one light mesh, confirming the measurement's operator independence.
The results on the coefficient of variation indicated values below 5 % in 34 out of 36 cases, regardless of the mesh density. Similarly, the same parameter was computed to assess the independence of the procedure from different operators, yielding a maximum value of 1.84 %. These findings confirm the robustness and user-independence of the measurement procedure.
The procedure presented in this study is straightforward to replicate and yields dependable results. Its adoption has the potential to standardize the computation of surgical mesh porosity, enabling consistent determination of this crucial morphological parameter.
与腹壁疝治疗的缝合修复相比，外科补片已显示出更高的可靠性。然而，关于这些装置的特性及其对手术结果的影响仍存在疑问。包括孔径和孔隙率在内的形态学特性在补片整合和包封中起着关键作用。在本研究中，我们介绍了一种简单的图像分析程序，用于准确计算织物孔隙率和有效孔隙率。后者特别考虑了防止桥接的孔隙，为补片性能提供了有价值的见解。
建立了一个摄影装置，以捕获补片的高质量图像，并附带计算有效孔隙率所需的校准图像。所开发的图像分析程序包括七个步骤，重点是提高二值化过程的质量，然后计算织物孔隙率和有效孔隙率。为便于使用，使用MATLAB应用程序设计器设计了一个名为“poreScanner”的应用程序，指导用户完成本文所述的算法。该应用程序用于计算来自不同制造商的24个补片的两种孔隙率，方法是对从同样多图像中获得的七次测量值求平均值。通过计算织物孔隙率和有效孔隙率的变异系数，验证了该应用程序测量的稳定性，总共得到36个结果（织物孔隙率24个，有效孔隙率12个）。此外，不同操作人员独立测试了一个重质补片和一个轻质补片，证实了测量结果与操作人员无关。
变异系数的结果表明，在36例中有34例的值低于5%，与补片密度无关。同样，计算相同参数以评估该程序与不同操作人员的无关性，得到的最大值为1.84%。这些发现证实了测量程序的稳健性和与用户无关性。
本研究中提出的程序易于重复且结果可靠。采用该程序有可能使外科补片孔隙率的计算标准化，从而能够一致地确定这一关键的形态学参数。
