title: Quantitative analysis of echogenicity for patients with thyroid nodules.
abstract: Hypoechogenicity has been described qualitatively and is potentially subject to intra- and inter-observer variability. The aim of this study was to clarify whether quantitative echoic indexes (EIs) are useful for the detection of malignant thyroid nodules. Overall, 333 participants with 411 nodules were included in the final analysis. Quantification of echogenicity was performed using commercial software (AmCAD-UT; AmCad BioMed, Taiwan). The coordinates of three defined regions, the nodule, thyroid parenchyma, and strap muscle regions, were recorded in the database separately for subsequent analysis. And the results showed that ultrasound echogenicity (US-E), as assessed by clinicians, defined hypoechogenicity as an independent factor for malignancy. The EI, adjusted EI (EIN-T; EIN-M) and automatic EI(N-R)/Rvalues between benign and malignant nodules were all significantly different, with lower values for malignant nodules. All of the EIs showed similar percentages of sensitivity and specificity and had better accuracies than US-E. In conclusion, the proposed quantitative EI seems more promising to constitute an important advancement than the conventional qualitative US-E in allowing for a more reliable distinction between benign and malignant thyroid nodules.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Ming-Hsun
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Chiung-Nien
authors.initials: CN
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Kuen-Yuan
authors.initials: KY
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Ming-Chih
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Ho
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Hao-Chih
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Tai
authors.affiliation: AmCad BioMed Corporation, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Yu-Hsin
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Graduate Institute of Industrial Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Argon
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.|Department of Surgery, Cheng Ching General Hospital, Taichung City, Taiwan.
authors.forename: King-Jen
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Chang
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013624:Taiwan; D016606:Thyroid Nodule / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D014463:Ultrasonography / Q000379:methods*; D055815:Young Adult