Synthesizing Bidirectional Temporal States of Knee Osteoarthritis Radiographs with Cycle-Consistent Generative Adversarial Neural Networks
This work addresses the problem of limited datasets for KOA detection in healthcare, offering potential for data augmentation and diagnostic enhancement, though it is incremental as it applies an existing CycleGAN method to a new medical domain.
The study tackled the challenge of early detection of Knee Osteoarthritis (KOA) by training a CycleGAN model to synthesize past and future stages of KOA radiographs, which effectively transformed disease characteristics forward or backward in time, showing particular effectiveness in synthesizing future states and retroactively transitioning late-stage radiographs to earlier stages.
Knee Osteoarthritis (KOA), a leading cause of disability worldwide, is challenging to detect early due to subtle radiographic indicators. Diverse, extensive datasets are needed but are challenging to compile because of privacy, data collection limitations, and the progressive nature of KOA. However, a model capable of projecting genuine radiographs into different OA stages could augment data pools, enhance algorithm training, and offer pre-emptive prognostic insights. In this study, we trained a CycleGAN model to synthesize past and future stages of KOA on any genuine radiograph. The model was validated using a Convolutional Neural Network that was deceived into misclassifying disease stages in transformed images, demonstrating the CycleGAN's ability to effectively transform disease characteristics forward or backward in time. The model was particularly effective in synthesizing future disease states and showed an exceptional ability to retroactively transition late-stage radiographs to earlier stages by eliminating osteophytes and expanding knee joint space, signature characteristics of None or Doubtful KOA. The model's results signify a promising potential for enhancing diagnostic models, data augmentation, and educational and prognostic usage in healthcare. Nevertheless, further refinement, validation, and a broader evaluation process encompassing both CNN-based assessments and expert medical feedback are emphasized for future research and development.