title: Measurement of uterine fibroid volume: a comparative accuracy and validation of methods study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  A range of measurement techniques have been described which may be used to calculate uterine fibroid volume. A commonly-reported method involves application of a formula for the volume of an ellipsoid sphere to three orthogonal axes of a fibroid as measured on cross-sectional images. We aimed to compare this method and a second method, that of software-computed parallel planimetric uterine fibroid computation on MRI images, to a gold standard: the volume of objects measured by water displacement. We also compared these methods in volume estimation of patient fibroids using MRI data.
  
  
  METHODS
  Mixed observational study and blinded cross-sectional analysis of imaging data.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Large inter-observer variability was noted when using the ellipsoid formula method, which was also inaccurate when compared to the gold standard. Conversely, the parallel planimetric method showed excellent interobserver correlation and a high degree of correlation with gold standard volume measurements.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We conclude that the parallel planimetric method, although a more complex and time consuming technique, is the more accurate and therefore preferred method for measuring uterine fibroid volume.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, St. Mary's Hospital, Praed Street, London W2 1NY, United Kingdom. Electronic address: Stephen.quinn@imperial.nhs.uk.
authors.forename: Stephen D
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Quinn
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Vedelago
authors.forename: Elika
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kashef
authors.forename: Wadyslaw
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Gedroyc
authors.forename: Lesley
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Regan
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007090:Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted; D007889:Leiomyoma / Q000473:pathology*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D015588:Observer Variation; D009929:Organ Size; D014594:Uterine Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*
keywords: Focused ultrasound; Leiomyoma; Measurement accuracy; Uterine fibroids; Validation