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March 10, 2020; 94 (10) Article

Accuracy of a machine learning muscle MRI-based tool for the diagnosis of muscular dystrophies

José Verdú-Díaz, View ORCID ProfileJorge Alonso-Pérez, Claudia Nuñez-Peralta, Giorgio Tasca, John Vissing, Volker Straub, Roberto Fernández-Torrón, Jaume Llauger, Isabel Illa, Jordi Díaz-Manera
First published February 6, 2020, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1212/WNL.0000000000009068
José Verdú-Díaz
From the Neuromuscular Disorders Unit, Neurology Department (J.V.-D., J.A.-P., I.I., J.D.-M.), and Radiology Department (C.N.-P., J.L.), Hospital de la Santa Creu I Sant Pau, Barcelona, Spain; UOC di Neurologia (G.T.), Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS, Rome, Italy; Copenhagen Neuromuscular Center, Department of Neurology (J.V.), Rigshospitalet, University of Copenhagen, Denmark; John Walton Muscular Dystrophy Research Centre (V.S., J.D.-M.), University of Newcastle, Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK; Hospital Universitario Donostia (R.F.-T.); and Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red en Enfermedades Raras (CIBERER) (I.I., J.D.-M.), Madrid, Spain.
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Jorge Alonso-Pérez
From the Neuromuscular Disorders Unit, Neurology Department (J.V.-D., J.A.-P., I.I., J.D.-M.), and Radiology Department (C.N.-P., J.L.), Hospital de la Santa Creu I Sant Pau, Barcelona, Spain; UOC di Neurologia (G.T.), Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS, Rome, Italy; Copenhagen Neuromuscular Center, Department of Neurology (J.V.), Rigshospitalet, University of Copenhagen, Denmark; John Walton Muscular Dystrophy Research Centre (V.S., J.D.-M.), University of Newcastle, Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK; Hospital Universitario Donostia (R.F.-T.); and Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red en Enfermedades Raras (CIBERER) (I.I., J.D.-M.), Madrid, Spain.
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  • ORCID record for Jorge Alonso-Pérez
Claudia Nuñez-Peralta
From the Neuromuscular Disorders Unit, Neurology Department (J.V.-D., J.A.-P., I.I., J.D.-M.), and Radiology Department (C.N.-P., J.L.), Hospital de la Santa Creu I Sant Pau, Barcelona, Spain; UOC di Neurologia (G.T.), Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS, Rome, Italy; Copenhagen Neuromuscular Center, Department of Neurology (J.V.), Rigshospitalet, University of Copenhagen, Denmark; John Walton Muscular Dystrophy Research Centre (V.S., J.D.-M.), University of Newcastle, Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK; Hospital Universitario Donostia (R.F.-T.); and Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red en Enfermedades Raras (CIBERER) (I.I., J.D.-M.), Madrid, Spain.
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Giorgio Tasca
From the Neuromuscular Disorders Unit, Neurology Department (J.V.-D., J.A.-P., I.I., J.D.-M.), and Radiology Department (C.N.-P., J.L.), Hospital de la Santa Creu I Sant Pau, Barcelona, Spain; UOC di Neurologia (G.T.), Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS, Rome, Italy; Copenhagen Neuromuscular Center, Department of Neurology (J.V.), Rigshospitalet, University of Copenhagen, Denmark; John Walton Muscular Dystrophy Research Centre (V.S., J.D.-M.), University of Newcastle, Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK; Hospital Universitario Donostia (R.F.-T.); and Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red en Enfermedades Raras (CIBERER) (I.I., J.D.-M.), Madrid, Spain.
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John Vissing
From the Neuromuscular Disorders Unit, Neurology Department (J.V.-D., J.A.-P., I.I., J.D.-M.), and Radiology Department (C.N.-P., J.L.), Hospital de la Santa Creu I Sant Pau, Barcelona, Spain; UOC di Neurologia (G.T.), Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS, Rome, Italy; Copenhagen Neuromuscular Center, Department of Neurology (J.V.), Rigshospitalet, University of Copenhagen, Denmark; John Walton Muscular Dystrophy Research Centre (V.S., J.D.-M.), University of Newcastle, Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK; Hospital Universitario Donostia (R.F.-T.); and Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red en Enfermedades Raras (CIBERER) (I.I., J.D.-M.), Madrid, Spain.
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Volker Straub
From the Neuromuscular Disorders Unit, Neurology Department (J.V.-D., J.A.-P., I.I., J.D.-M.), and Radiology Department (C.N.-P., J.L.), Hospital de la Santa Creu I Sant Pau, Barcelona, Spain; UOC di Neurologia (G.T.), Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS, Rome, Italy; Copenhagen Neuromuscular Center, Department of Neurology (J.V.), Rigshospitalet, University of Copenhagen, Denmark; John Walton Muscular Dystrophy Research Centre (V.S., J.D.-M.), University of Newcastle, Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK; Hospital Universitario Donostia (R.F.-T.); and Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red en Enfermedades Raras (CIBERER) (I.I., J.D.-M.), Madrid, Spain.
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Roberto Fernández-Torrón
From the Neuromuscular Disorders Unit, Neurology Department (J.V.-D., J.A.-P., I.I., J.D.-M.), and Radiology Department (C.N.-P., J.L.), Hospital de la Santa Creu I Sant Pau, Barcelona, Spain; UOC di Neurologia (G.T.), Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS, Rome, Italy; Copenhagen Neuromuscular Center, Department of Neurology (J.V.), Rigshospitalet, University of Copenhagen, Denmark; John Walton Muscular Dystrophy Research Centre (V.S., J.D.-M.), University of Newcastle, Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK; Hospital Universitario Donostia (R.F.-T.); and Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red en Enfermedades Raras (CIBERER) (I.I., J.D.-M.), Madrid, Spain.
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Jaume Llauger
From the Neuromuscular Disorders Unit, Neurology Department (J.V.-D., J.A.-P., I.I., J.D.-M.), and Radiology Department (C.N.-P., J.L.), Hospital de la Santa Creu I Sant Pau, Barcelona, Spain; UOC di Neurologia (G.T.), Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS, Rome, Italy; Copenhagen Neuromuscular Center, Department of Neurology (J.V.), Rigshospitalet, University of Copenhagen, Denmark; John Walton Muscular Dystrophy Research Centre (V.S., J.D.-M.), University of Newcastle, Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK; Hospital Universitario Donostia (R.F.-T.); and Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red en Enfermedades Raras (CIBERER) (I.I., J.D.-M.), Madrid, Spain.
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Isabel Illa
From the Neuromuscular Disorders Unit, Neurology Department (J.V.-D., J.A.-P., I.I., J.D.-M.), and Radiology Department (C.N.-P., J.L.), Hospital de la Santa Creu I Sant Pau, Barcelona, Spain; UOC di Neurologia (G.T.), Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS, Rome, Italy; Copenhagen Neuromuscular Center, Department of Neurology (J.V.), Rigshospitalet, University of Copenhagen, Denmark; John Walton Muscular Dystrophy Research Centre (V.S., J.D.-M.), University of Newcastle, Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK; Hospital Universitario Donostia (R.F.-T.); and Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red en Enfermedades Raras (CIBERER) (I.I., J.D.-M.), Madrid, Spain.
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Jordi Díaz-Manera
From the Neuromuscular Disorders Unit, Neurology Department (J.V.-D., J.A.-P., I.I., J.D.-M.), and Radiology Department (C.N.-P., J.L.), Hospital de la Santa Creu I Sant Pau, Barcelona, Spain; UOC di Neurologia (G.T.), Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS, Rome, Italy; Copenhagen Neuromuscular Center, Department of Neurology (J.V.), Rigshospitalet, University of Copenhagen, Denmark; John Walton Muscular Dystrophy Research Centre (V.S., J.D.-M.), University of Newcastle, Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK; Hospital Universitario Donostia (R.F.-T.); and Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red en Enfermedades Raras (CIBERER) (I.I., J.D.-M.), Madrid, Spain.
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Accuracy of a machine learning muscle MRI-based tool for the diagnosis of muscular dystrophies
José Verdú-Díaz, Jorge Alonso-Pérez, Claudia Nuñez-Peralta, Giorgio Tasca, John Vissing, Volker Straub, Roberto Fernández-Torrón, Jaume Llauger, Isabel Illa, Jordi Díaz-Manera
Neurology Mar 2020, 94 (10) e1094-e1102; DOI: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000009068

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Abstract

Objective Genetic diagnosis of muscular dystrophies (MDs) has classically been guided by clinical presentation, muscle biopsy, and muscle MRI data. Muscle MRI suggests diagnosis based on the pattern of muscle fatty replacement. However, patterns overlap between different disorders and knowledge about disease-specific patterns is limited. Our aim was to develop a software-based tool that can recognize muscle MRI patterns and thus aid diagnosis of MDs.

Methods We collected 976 pelvic and lower limbs T1-weighted muscle MRIs from 10 different MDs. Fatty replacement was quantified using Mercuri score and files containing the numeric data were generated. Random forest supervised machine learning was applied to develop a model useful to identify the correct diagnosis. Two thousand different models were generated and the one with highest accuracy was selected. A new set of 20 MRIs was used to test the accuracy of the model, and the results were compared with diagnoses proposed by 4 specialists in the field.

Results A total of 976 lower limbs MRIs from 10 different MDs were used. The best model obtained had 95.7% accuracy, with 92.1% sensitivity and 99.4% specificity. When compared with experts on the field, the diagnostic accuracy of the model generated was significantly higher in a new set of 20 MRIs.

Conclusion Machine learning can help doctors in the diagnosis of muscle dystrophies by analyzing patterns of muscle fatty replacement in muscle MRI. This tool can be helpful in daily clinics and in the interpretation of the results of next-generation sequencing tests.

Classification of evidence This study provides Class II evidence that a muscle MRI-based artificial intelligence tool accurately diagnoses muscular dystrophies.

Glossary

SHD=
facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy;
MD=
muscular dystrophy;
NGS=
next-generation sequencing;
NPV=
negative predictive value;
OPMD=
oculopharyngeal muscular dystrophy;
PPV=
positive predictive value

Footnotes

  • Go to Neurology.org/N for full disclosures. Funding information and disclosures deemed relevant by the authors, if any, are provided at the end of the article.

  • ↵* These authors contributed equally to this work.

  • Editorial, page 421

  • Class of Evidence: NPub.org/coe

  • Received May 16, 2019.
  • Accepted in final form October 3, 2019.
  • © 2020 American Academy of Neurology
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    • Haluk Topaloglu, Child Neurologist, Hacettepe Children's Hospital
    Submitted February 10, 2020
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