Clinical feasibility of MRI-based synthetic CT imaging in the diagnosis of lumbar disc herniation: a comparative study

Background Computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are indicated for use in preoperative planning and may complicate diagnosis and place a burden on patients with lumbar disc herniation. Purpose To investigate the diagnostic potential of MRI-based synthetic CT with conventional CT in the diagnosis of lumbar disc herniation. Material and Methods After obtaining prior institutional review board approval, 19 patients who underwent conventional and synthetic CT imaging were enrolled in this prospective study. Synthetic CT images were generated from the MRI data using U-net. The two sets of images were compared and analyzed qualitatively by two musculoskeletal radiologists. The images were rated on a 4-point scale to determine their subjective quality. The agreement between the conventional and synthetic images for a diagnosis of lumbar disc herniation was determined independently using the kappa statistic. The diagnostic performances of conventional and synthetic CT images were evaluated for sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy, and the consensual results based on T2-weighted imaging were employed as the reference standard. Results The inter-reader and intra-reader agreement were almost moderate for all evaluated modalities (κ = 0.57−0.79 and 0.47−0.75, respectively). The sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy for detecting lumbar disc herniation were similar for synthetic and conventional CT images (synthetic vs. conventional, reader 1: sensitivity = 91% vs. 81%, specificity = 83% vs. 100%, accuracy = 87% vs. 91%; P < 0.001; reader 2: sensitivity = 84% vs. 81%, specificity = 85% vs. 98%, accuracy = 84% vs. 90%; P < 0.001). Conclusion Synthetic CT images can be used in the diagnostics of lumbar disc herniation.