Japanese Journal of Radiology· 2026Q1
Technical feasibility of AI-based longitudinal multi-organ volumetry on low-dose PET/CT over 13 years
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- Q1SCImago
- 2026year
Short summary
An AI pipeline using Fast mode on raw low-dose PET/CT can reliably track organ volume changes over 13 years, showing significant average annual changes in muscles, liver, kidneys, pancreas, and aorta.
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Key points
- AI's Fast mode on raw low-dose PET/CT offers a favorable speed-stability trade-off for multi-organ volumetry.
- CT denoising did not significantly improve the longitudinal consistency of organ segmentation.
- Significant population-average annual volumetric trends were detected in autochthon muscles (-0.72%/year), iliopsoas (-0.74%/year), liver (-0.55%/year), kidneys (-0.49%/year), pancreas (-0.97%/year), and aorta (+0.94%/year).
- These volumetric trends remained statistically significant even when accounting for individual participant variations over the 13-year follow-up.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Abstract
Abstract Purpose This study aimed to (i) compare TotalSegmentator Fast and Normal inference modes on low-dose PET/CT, (ii) evaluate whether CT denoising improves segmentation longitudinal consistency, and (iii) examine whether the selected pipeline can capture long-term within-participant volumetric trends over approximately 13 years. Materials and methods This retrospective study drew from a PET/CT screening registry of 15,597 examinees. In Phase 1, 10 participants (137 scans) were selected for pipeline optimization: Fast versus Normal modes and five denoising methods were compared using detrended within-participant CV. In Phase 2, 30 participants aged ≥60 years (337 scans) were analyzed. Volumetric changes in six structures were modeled using a linear mixed-effects model with false discovery rate correction. Results Fast mode demonstrated similar detrended longitudinal variability to Normal mode across the six analyzed structures (detrended CV range: 2.26–9.32%), with approximately 10-fold faster processing. No tested denoising method meaningfully improved the selected serial-variability metrics over raw CT. In the primary random-intercept model, all six structures showed significant population-average volumetric trends (all p < 0.001, FDR q < 0.001): autochthon (paraspinal) muscles (− 0.72%/year), iliopsoas (− 0.74%/year), liver (− 0.55%/year), kidneys (− 0.49%/year), pancreas (− 0.97%/year), and aorta (+ 0.94%/year). In the random-slope sensitivity analysis, all six structures—including the iliopsoas and aorta—remained statistically significant (all RS p < 0.01) when individual trajectory slopes were accommodated. Conclusion Fast mode on raw low-dose PET/CT provided the most favorable speed–stability trade-off for TotalSegmentator-based multi-organ volumetry. Long-term within-participant volumetric trends were detectable over a 13-year follow-up, supporting technical feasibility but not yet establishing biological attribution or clinical utility.
The authors' abstract, as published at the source. Japanese Journal of Radiology, 2026 · DOI ↗
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Field: Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and Imaging
Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and ImagingMedicine