title: Efficient stereological approaches for the volumetry of a normal or enlarged spleen from MDCT images.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To introduce efficient stereological approaches for estimating the volume of a normal or enlarged spleen from MDCT.
  
  
  METHODS
  All study participants underwent an abdominal MDCT. The first group included 20 consecutive patients with splenomegaly and the second group consisted of 20 subjects with a normal spleen. Splenic volume estimations were performed using the stereological point counting method. Stereological assessments were optimized using the systematic slice sampling procedure. Planimetric measurements based on manual tracing of splenic boundaries on each slice were taken as reference values.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Stereological analysis using five to eight systematically sampled slices provided enlarged splenic volume estimations with a mean precision of 4.9 ± 1.0 % in a mean time of 2.3 ± 0.4 min. A similar measurement duration and error was observed for normal splenic volume assessment using four to seven systematically selected slices. These stereological approaches slightly but insignificantly overestimated the volume of a normal and enlarged spleen compared to planimetry (P > 0.05) with a mean difference of -1.3 ± 4.3 % and -2.7 ± 5.2 %, respectively. The two methods were highly correlated (r ≥ 0.96). The variability of repeated stereological estimations was below 3.8 %.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The proposed stereological approaches enable the rapid, reproducible, and accurate splenic volume estimation from MDCT data in patients with or without splenomegaly.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  • New efficient stereological approaches are proposed for spleen volumetry from MDCT • These volumetric approaches are applicable in patients with or without splenomegaly • Stereological splenic volume estimations from MDCT are rapid, reproducible, and accurate.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Physics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Crete, P.O. Box 2208, 71003, Iraklion, Crete, Greece, mazonak@med.uoc.gr.
authors.forename: Michalis
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mazonakis
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Stratakis
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Damilakis
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D061330:Multidetector Computed Tomography / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards; D009929:Organ Size; D012016:Reference Values; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013154:Spleen / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D013163:Splenomegaly / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*