Work

Automated 3D segmentation of the hyoid bone in CBCT using nnU-Net v2: a retrospective study on model performance and potential clinical utility

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to identify the hyoid bone (HB) using the nnU-Net based artificial intelligence (AI) model in cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) images and assess the model's success in automatic segmentation. METHODS: CBCT images of 190 patients were randomly selected. The raw data was converted to DICOM format and transferred to the 3D Slicer Imaging Software (Version 4.10.2; MIT, Cambridge, MA, USA). HB was labeled manually using the 3D Slicer. The dataset was divided into training, validation, and test sets in a ratio of 8:1:1. The nnU-Net v2 architecture was utilized to process the training and test datasets, generating the algorithm weight factors. To assess the model's accuracy and performance, a confusion matrix was employed. F1-score, Dice coefficient (DC), 95% Hausdorff distance (95% HD), and Intersection over Union (IoU) metrics were calculated to evaluate the results. RESULTS: The model's performance metrics were as follows: DC = 0.9434, IoU = 0.8941, F1-score = 0.9446, and 95% HD = 1.9998. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was generated, yielding an AUC value of 0.98. CONCLUSION: The results indicated that the nnU-Net v2 model achieved high precision and accuracy in HB segmentation on CBCT images. Automatic segmentation of HB can enhance clinicians' decision-making speed and accuracy in diagnosing and treating various clinical conditions. CLINICAL TRIAL NUMBER: Not applicable.

Source: BMC Medical Imaging

DOI: 10.1186/s12880-025-01797-9