Development of Three Dimensional Automatic Body Fat Measurement Software from CT, and Its Validation and Evaluation

Abdominal obesity describes the accumulation of excessive fat in the abdomen. It is known that depending on its distribution, visceral obesity presents a greater danger to health than subcutaneous obesity. To properly prevent and treat visceral obesity, accurate evaluation methods are necessary, and hence quantitative VAT estimation is extremely important. CT scans are the most accurate method for estimating VAT, but it requires a great deal of time and effort, limiting its use in studying or evaluating obesity in patients. This paper proposed automatic measurement software that could quickly differentiate between and measure VAT and SAT. The method was verified using a total of 100 abdominal CT data values;this paper measured the SAT and VAT in the entire abdomen using the automatic measurement software. Additionally, through a comparative evaluation between the automated measurements and manual measurements such as BMI and waist circumference, clinical reliability and viability were validated and evaluated. Between automated measurements and manual measurements, the TAT (r = 0.995, p = 0.01), SAT (r = 0.987, p = 0.01) and VAT (r = 0.993, p = 0.01) showed high correlation. Using BMI as the main metric, the TAT for automated measurements (r = 0.674, p = 0.01) and the TAT for manual measurements (r = 0.703, p = 0.01) showed the strongest correlation. When using waist circumference, the VAT for automated measurements (r = 0.826, p = 0.01) and the VAT for manual measurements (r = 0.822, p = 0.01) showed the strongest correlation. With these results, the reliability and viability of the automatic measurement software were confirmed. The software is expected to help greatly in reducing the time and in providing objective data of VAT measurements from CT scans for clinical research.

Changing trends and characteristics of peptic ulcer disease:A multicenter study from 2010 to 2019 in Korea

BACKGROUND The clinical trend and characteristics of peptic ulcer disease(PUD)have not fully been investigated in the past decade.AIM To evaluate the changing trends and characteristics of PUD according to age and METHODS We analyzed seven hospital databases converted into the Observational Medical Outcomes Partnership-Common Data Model between 2010 and 2019.We classified patients with PUD who underwent rapid urease tests or Helicobacter pylori(H.pylori)serology into three groups:H.pylori-related,drug[nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs(NSAIDs)or aspirin]-related,and idiopathic(H.pylori/NSAID/aspirin-negative)PUD and compared the yearly trends and characteristics among the three groups.RESULTS We included 26785 patients in 7 databases,and the proportion of old age(≥65 years)was 38.8%.The overall number of PUD exhibited no decrease,whereas PUD in old age revealed an increasing trend(P=0.01 for trend).Of the 19601 patients,41.8%had H.pylori-related,36.1%had drug-related,and 22.1%had idiopathic PUD.H.pylorirelated PUD exhibited a decreasing trend after 2014(P=0.01),drug-related PUD demonstrated an increasing trend(P=0.04),and idiopathic PUD showed an increasing trend in the old-age group(P=0.01)during 10 years.Patients with drug-related PUD had significantly more comorbidities and concomitant ulcerogenic drugs.The idiopathic PUD group had a significantly higher number of patients with chronic liver disease.CONCLUSION With the aging population increase,the effects of concomitant ulcerogenic drugs and preventive strategies should be investigated in drug-induced PUD.Further studies are required to clarify the relationship between idiopathic PUD and chronic liver disease.