An automatic evaluation study for anterior located ciliary body of primary angle-closure glaucoma based on deep learning

Objective  To explore the clinical application value of a deep learning algorithm-based ultrasound biomicroscopy (UBM) image analysis system for primary angles-closure glaucoma (PACG) anterior located ciliary body.

Methods  A diagnostic test study was conducted.A total of 2 132 UBM images from 726 eyes of 378 PACG patients who underwent UBM examination were collected at Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University from August 2022 to December 2023.The dataset was divided into a training set of 1 599 images and a test set of 533 images, and a deep learning algorithm was employed to construct a model.An additional 334 UBM images from 101 eyes of 69 PACG patients treated at Huangshi Aier Eye Hospital were selected to conduct external testing.A separate set of another 110 UBM images were selected for a human-machine competition to compare the accuracy and speed between anterior located ciliary body evaluation system and three senior ophthalmologists.Furthermore, eight junior ophthalmologists assessed the 110 UBM images independently without and with the assistance of the model, and the differences between the two evaluations were analyzed to assess the assisstance effect of the model.This study adhered to the Declaration of Helsinki.The study protocol was approved by the Ethics Committee of Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University (No.WDRY-2022-K109).

Results  The model achieved an accuracy of 93.43% for anterior located ciliary body identification in the internal test set, with a sensitivity of 84.30% and a specificity of 97.78%.The model also performed well on the external test set with an accuracy of 92.81%.In the human-machine competition, the model’s accuracy was comparable to that of the senior ophthalmologists and outperformed two of the three senior ophthalmologists.The average total time of the three senior ophthalmologists was 726.73 seconds, approximately 12.47 times longer than the model’s 58.30 seconds.With model assistance, the diagnostic accuracy of the eight junior ophthalmologists was 86.71%, which was significantly higher than 76.25% without model assistance ( χ ²=-7.550, P<0.001).And the image evaluation time was (714.91±213.82)seconds, which was significantly lower than (987.90±238.56)seconds without model assistance ( t=2.774, P<0.05).

Conclusions  The UBM image analysis system based on a deep learning algorithm demonstrates high accuracy in diagnosing anterior located ciliary body in PACG and provides a strong support for the UBM image recognition training of junior ophthalmologists.

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