Deep learning based automated quantification of urethral plate characteristics using the plate objective scoring tool (POST)

Abstract

Introduction: The plate objective scoring tool (POST) was recently introduced as a reproducible and precise approach to quantifying urethral plate (UP) characteristics and guide to selecting particular surgical techniques. However, defining the landmarks mandatory for the POST score from captured images can potentially leads to variability. Although artificial intelligence (AI) is yet to be wholly accepted and explored in hypospadiology, it has certainly brought new possibilities to light.

Objectives: To explore the capacity of deep learning algorithm to further streamline and optimize UP characteristics appraisal on 2D images using the POST, aiming to increase the objectivity and reproducibility of UP appraisal in hypospadias repair.

Methods: The five key POST landmarks were marked by specialists in a 691-image dataset of prepubertal boys undergoing primary hypospadias repair. This dataset was then used to develop and validate a deep learning-based landmark detection model. The proposed framework begins with glans localization and detection, where the input image is cropped using the predicted bounding box. Next, a deep convolutional neural network (CNN) architecture is used to predict the coordinates of the five POST landmarks. These predicted landmarks are then used to assess UP characteristics in distal hypospadias.

Results: The proposed model accurately localized the glans area, with a mean average precision (mAP) of 99.5% and an overall sensitivity of 99.1%. A normalized mean error (NME) of 0.07152 was achieved in predicting the coordinates of the landmarks, with a mean squared error (MSE) of 0.001 and a 2.5% failure rate at a threshold of 0.2 NME.

Discussion: Our results support the possibility of further standardizing UP assessment from captured hypospadias images, and the use of machine learning algorithms and image recognition shows that these novel artificial intelligence technologies are useful for scoring hypospadias. External validation can provide valuable information on the generalizability and reliability of deep learning algorithms, which can aid in assessments, decision-making and predictions for surgical outcomes.

Conclusions: This deep learning application shows robustness and high precision in using POST to appraise UP characteristics. Further assessment using international multi-centre image-based databases is ongoing.

Keywords: Artifical Intelligence; Hypospadias; Machine Learning; Urethral plate.