Development of a convolutional neural network for diagnosing osteoarthritis, trained with knee radiographs from the ELSA-Brasil Musculoskeletal

Abstract

Objective:  To develop a convolutional neural network (CNN) model, trained with the Brazilian “Estudo Longitudinal de Saúde do Adulto Musculoesquelético” (ELSA-Brasil MSK, Longitudinal Study of Adult Health, Musculoskeletal) baseline radiographic examinations, for the automated classification of knee osteoarthritis.

Materials and Methods:  This was a cross-sectional study carried out with 5,660 baseline posteroanterior knee radiographs from the ELSA-Brasil MSK database (5,660 baseline posteroanterior knee radiographs). The examinations were interpreted by a radiologist with specific training, and the calibration was as established previously.

Results:  The CNN presented an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.866 (95% CI: 0.842-0.882). The model can be optimized to achieve, not simultaneously, maximum values of 0.907 for accuracy, 0.938 for sensitivity, and 0.994 for specificity.

Conclusion:  The proposed CNN can be used as a screening tool, reducing the total number of examinations evaluated by the radiologists of the study, and as a double-reading tool, contributing to the reduction of possible interpretation errors.

Keywords: Osteoarthritis; knee; Radiography; Neural networks; computer; Machine learning; Diagnosis; computer-assisted; Epidemiologic studies