3D auto-segmentation of biliary structure of living liver donors using magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography for enhanced preoperative planning.

BACKGROUND

This study aimed to develop an automated segmentation system for biliary structures using a deep learning model, based on data from magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP).

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Living liver donors who underwent MRCP using the gradient and spin echo technique followed by three-dimensional modeling were eligible for this study. A three-dimensional residual U-Net model was implemented for the deep learning process. Data were divided into training and test sets at a 9:1 ratio. Performance was assessed using the dice similarity coefficient to compare the model's segmentation with the manually labeled ground truth.

RESULTS

The study incorporated 250 cases. There was no difference in the baseline characteristics between the train set (n=225) and test set (n=25). The overall mean Dice Similarity Coefficient was 0.80±0.20 between the ground truth and inference result. The qualitative assessment of the model showed relatively high accuracy especially for the common bile duct (88%), common hepatic duct (92%), hilum (96%), right hepatic duct (100%), and left hepatic duct (96%), while the third-order branch of the right hepatic duct (18.2%) showed low accuracy.

CONCLUSION

The developed automated segmentation model for biliary structures, utilizing MRCP data and deep learning techniques, demonstrated robust performance and holds potential for further advancements in automation.