Data harmonisation for information fusion in digital healthcare: A state-of-the-art systematic review, meta-analysis and future research directions.

Removing the bias and variance of multicentre data has always been a challenge in large scale digital healthcare studies, which requires the ability to integrate clinical features extracted from data acquired by different scanners and protocols to improve stability and robustness. Previous studies have described various computational approaches to fuse single modality multicentre datasets. However, these surveys rarely focused on evaluation metrics and lacked a checklist for computational data harmonisation studies.

Plasma sRAGE levels strongly associate with centrilobular emphysema assessed by HRCT scans.

Background: There is a strong need for biomarkers to better characterize individuals with COPD and to take into account the heterogeneity of COPD. The blood protein sRAGE has been put forward as promising biomarker for COPD in general and emphysema in particular. Here, we measured plasma sRAGE levels using quantitative LC-MS and assessed whether the plasma sRAGE levels associate with (changes in) lung function, radiological emphysema parameters, and radiological subtypes of emphysema.

HRCT characteristics of severe emphysema patients: Interobserver variability among expert readers and comparison with quantitative software.

Purpose: For a successful bronchoscopic lung volume reduction coil treatment it is important to place the coils in the most emphysematous lobes. Therefore assessment of the lobe with greatest destruction is essential. Our aims were to investigate the level of agreement among expert reviewers of HRCT-scans in emphysema patients and the comparison with QCT (quantitative computed tomography) software.

Fleischner Society Visual Emphysema CT Patterns Help Predict Progression of Emphysema in Current and Former Smokers: Results from the COPDGene Study.

Background The correlation between visual emphysema patterns and subsequent progression of disease may provide a way to enrich a study population for treatment trials of emphysema. Purpose To evaluate the potential relationship between emphysema visual subtypes and progression of emphysema and gas trapping. Materials and Methods Current and former smokers with and without chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) enrolled in the prospective Genetic Epidemiology of COPD (COPDGene) study (ClinicalTrials.

Progression of Emphysema and Small Airways Disease in Cigarette Smokers.

Background: Little is known about factors associated with emphysema progression in cigarette smokers. We evaluated factors associated with change in emphysema and forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV) in participants with and without chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

Methods: This retrospective study included individuals participating in the COPD Genetic Epidemiology study who completed the 5-year follow-up, including inspiratory and expiratory computed tomography (CT) and spirometry.

Automated Assessment of COVID-19 Reporting and Data System and Chest CT Severity Scores in Patients Suspected of Having COVID-19 Using Artificial Intelligence.

Background The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has spread across the globe with alarming speed, morbidity, and mortality. Immediate triage of patients with chest infections suspected to be caused by COVID-19 using chest CT may be of assistance when results from definitive viral testing are delayed. Purpose To develop and validate an artificial intelligence (AI) system to score the likelihood and extent of pulmonary COVID-19 on chest CT scans using the COVID-19 Reporting and Data System (CO-RADS) and CT severity scoring systems.

Five-year Progression of Emphysema and Air Trapping at CT in Smokers with and Those without Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: Results from the COPDGene Study.

Background CT is used to quantify abnormal changes in the lung parenchyma of smokers that might overlap chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), but studies on the progression of expiratory air trapping in smokers are scarce. Purpose To evaluate the relationship between longitudinal changes in forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV) and CT-quantified emphysema and air trapping in smokers. Materials and Methods Cigarette smokers with and those without COPD participating in the multicenter observational COPDGene study were evaluated.

A New Oxygen Uptake Measurement Supporting Target Selection for Endobronchial Valve Treatment.

Background: Adequate target lobe selection for endobronchial valve (EBV) treatment in patients with severe emphysema is essential for treatment success and can be based on emphysema destruction, lobar perfusion, lobar volume, and collateral ventilation. As some patients have >1 target lobe for EBV treatment, we were interested whether we could identify the least functional lobe.

Objectives: The objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between endoscopic lobar measurement of oxygen uptake, lobar destruction, and vascular volume, and whether this could help in identifying the least functional lobe and thus optimal target for EBV treatment.

Endobronchial valves for severe emphysema.

The results of the randomised controlled trials investigating the bronchoscopic lung volume reduction treatment using endobronchial valves (EBV) are promising, and have led to their inclusion in treatment guidelines, US Food and Drug Administration approval and inclusion in routine care in an increasing number of countries. The one-way valve treatment has advanced and is now a regular treatment option. However, this new phase will lead to new challenges in terms of implementation.

Airway wall thickening on CT: Relation to smoking status and severity of COPD.

Airway wall thickening in cigarette smokers is thought to be a result of inflammatory changes and airway remodeling. This study investigates if CT-derived airway wall thickening associates to disease severity in smokers with and without COPD and if airway wall thickening is reversible by smoking cessation. We examined 2000 smokers and 46 never-smokers who returned for a 5-year follow-up visit in the COPDGene-study.

Chartis Measurement of Collateral Ventilation: Conscious Sedation versus General Anesthesia - A Retrospective Comparison.

Background: Absence of interlobar collateral ventilation using the Chartis measurement is the key predictor for successful endobronchial valve treatment in severe emphysema. Chartis was originally validated in spontaneous breathing patients under conscious sedation (CS); however, this can be challenging due to cough, mucus secretion, mucosal swelling, and bronchoconstriction. Performing Chartis under general anesthesia (GA) avoids these problems and may result in an easier procedure with a higher success rate.

Automatic segmentation of the solid core and enclosed vessels in subsolid pulmonary nodules.

Subsolid pulmonary nodules are commonly encountered in lung cancer screening and clinical routine. Compared to other nodule types, subsolid nodules are associated with a higher malignancy probability for which the size and mass of the nodule and solid core are important indicators. However, reliably measuring these characteristics on computed tomography (CT) can be hampered by the presence of vessels encompassed by the nodule, since vessels have similar CT attenuation as solid cores.

Normalized emphysema scores on low dose CT: Validation as an imaging biomarker for mortality.

The purpose of this study is to develop a computed tomography (CT) biomarker of emphysema that is robust across reconstruction settings, and evaluate its ability to predict mortality in patients at high risk for lung cancer. Data included baseline CT scans acquired between August 2002 and April 2004 from 1737 deceased subjects and 5740 surviving controls taken from the National Lung Screening Trial. Emphysema scores were computed in the original scans (origES) and after applying resampling, normalization and bullae analysis (normES).

Disease Severity Dependence of the Longitudinal Association Between CT Lung Density and Lung Function in Smokers.

Background: In smokers, the lung parenchyma is characterized by inflammation and emphysema, processes that can result in local gain and loss of lung tissue. CT measures of lung density might reflect lung tissue changes; however, longitudinal data regarding the effects of CT lung tissue on FEV in smokers with and without COPD are scarce.

Methods: The 15th percentile of CT lung density was obtained from the scans of 3,390 smokers who completed baseline and 5-year follow-up of the Genetic Epidemiology of COPD (COPDGene) study visits.

Minimal important difference of target lobar volume reduction after endobronchial valve treatment for emphysema.

Background And Objective: Target lobar volume reduction (TLVR) is an important efficacy outcome measure for bronchoscopic lung volume reduction (BLVR) treatment using one-way endobronchial valves (EBV) in patients with severe emphysema. The commonly used cut-off value for TLVR that expresses a perceivable clinical benefit is -350 mL. However, a scientifically determined minimal important difference (MID) for TLVR never has been published.

Obstructive pulmonary disease in patients with previous tuberculosis: Pathophysiology of a community-based cohort.

Background: An association between chronic airflow limitation (CAL) and a history of pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) has been confirmed in epidemiological studies, but the mechanisms responsible for this association are unclear. It is debated whether CAL in this context should be viewed as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or a separate phenotype.

Objective: To compare lung physiology and high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) findings in subjects with CAL and evidence of previous (healed) PTB with those in subjects with smoking-related COPD without evidence of previous PTB.

Computed tomography quantification of tracheal abnormalities in COPD and their influence on airflow limitation.

Purpose: To present a method to automatically quantify tracheal morphology changes during breathing and investigate its contribution to airflow impairment when adding CT measures of emphysema, airway wall thickness, air trapping and ventilation.

Methods: Because tracheal abnormalities often occur localized, a method is presented that automatically determines the most abnormal trachea section based on automatically computed sagittal and coronal lengths. In this most abnormal section, trachea morphology is encoded using four equiangular rays from the center of the trachea and the normalized lengths of these rays are used as features in a classification scheme.

Safety and Immunogenicity of Adenovirus 35 Tuberculosis Vaccine Candidate in Adults with Active or Previous Tuberculosis. A Randomized Trial.

Rationale: Administration of tuberculosis (TB) vaccines in participants with previous or current pulmonary TB may have the potential for causing harmful postvaccination immunologic (Koch-type) reactions.

Objectives: To assess the safety and immunogenicity of three dose levels of the AERAS-402 live, replication-deficient adenovirus 35-vectored TB candidate vaccine, containing three mycobacterial antigens, in individuals with current or previous pulmonary TB.

Methods: We performed a phase II randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blinded dose-escalation study in an HIV-negative adult South African cohort (n = 72) with active pulmonary TB (on treatment for 1-4 mo) or pulmonary TB treated at least 12 months before study entry and considered cured.

Follow-up of CT-derived airway wall thickness: Correcting for changes in inspiration level improves reliability.

Objectives: Airway wall thickness (AWT) is affected by changes in lung volume. This study evaluated whether correcting AWT on computed tomography (CT) for differences in inspiration level improves measurement agreement, reliability, and power to detect changes over time.

Methods: Participants of the Dutch-Belgian lung cancer screening trial who underwent 3-month repeat CT for an indeterminate pulmonary nodule were included.

Predicting Lung Volume Reduction after Endobronchial Valve Therapy Is Maximized Using a Combination of Diagnostic Tools.

Background: Bronchoscopic lung volume reduction using one-way endobronchial valves (EBVs) has been proven to be effective in patients with severe emphysema. However, the selection of patients without collateral ventilation prior to treatment is critical for procedural success. Collateral ventilation can be assessed directly with the Chartis system or indirectly using computed tomography (CT) fissure analysis.

Smokers with emphysema and small airway disease on computed tomography have lower bone density.

Osteoporosis is more common in patients with COPD and in smokers. The aim of this study was to assess whether measures of emphysema and airway disease on computed tomography (CT) were associated with lower bone density or vertebral fractures in smokers with and without COPD. For this purpose, we included participants from the NELSON lung cancer screening trial.

Endobronchial Valves for Emphysema without Interlobar Collateral Ventilation.

Background: Bronchoscopic lung-volume reduction with the use of one-way endobronchial valves is a potential treatment for patients with severe emphysema. To date, the benefits have been modest but have been hypothesized to be much larger in patients without interlobar collateral ventilation than in those with collateral ventilation.

Methods: We randomly assigned patients with severe emphysema and a confirmed absence of collateral ventilation to bronchoscopic endobronchial-valve treatment (EBV group) or to continued standard medical care (control group).

Automatic Pulmonary Artery-Vein Separation and Classification in Computed Tomography Using Tree Partitioning and Peripheral Vessel Matching.

We present a method for automatic separation and classification of pulmonary arteries and veins in computed tomography. Our method takes advantage of local information to separate segmented vessels, and global information to perform the artery-vein classification. Given a vessel segmentation, a geometric graph is constructed that represents both the topology and the spatial distribution of the vessels.

Computer-aided detection of pulmonary nodules: a comparative study using the public LIDC/IDRI database.

Objectives: To benchmark the performance of state-of-the-art computer-aided detection (CAD) of pulmonary nodules using the largest publicly available annotated CT database (LIDC/IDRI), and to show that CAD finds lesions not identified by the LIDC's four-fold double reading process.

Methods: The LIDC/IDRI database contains 888 thoracic CT scans with a section thickness of 2.5 mm or lower.