Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41899882›Full record

ArticleBioengineering (Basel, Switzerland)2026

Improved AI-Assisted Image Recognition of Cervical Spine Vertebrae Enables Motion Pattern Analysis in Dynamic X-Ray Recordings.

Esther van Santbrink, Tijmen H W Hijzelaar, Valérie N E Schuermans, Anouk Y J M Smeets, Henk van Santbrink, Rob de Bie, Mitko Veta, Toon F M Boselie

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Bioengineering (Basel, Switzerland), 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Esther van SantbrinkDepartment of Neurosurgery, Maastricht University Medical Centre, 6229 HX Maastricht, The Netherlands.ORCID 0000-0002-1082-9811
Tijmen H W HijzelaarDepartment of Biomedical Engineering, Eindhoven University of Technology, 5612 AZ Eindhoven, The Netherlands.
Valérie N E SchuermansDepartment of Neurosurgery, Maastricht University Medical Centre, 6229 HX Maastricht, The Netherlands.
Anouk Y J M SmeetsDepartment of Neurosurgery, Maastricht University Medical Centre, 6229 HX Maastricht, The Netherlands.
Henk van SantbrinkDepartment of Neurosurgery, Maastricht University Medical Centre, 6229 HX Maastricht, The Netherlands.ORCID 0000-0001-8187-6044
Rob de BieCAPHRI Institute for Public Health and Primary Care, Maastricht University, 6211 LK Maastricht, The Netherlands.
Mitko VetaDepartment of Biomedical Engineering, Eindhoven University of Technology, 5612 AZ Eindhoven, The Netherlands.
Toon F M BoselieDepartment of Neurosurgery, Maastricht University Medical Centre, 6229 HX Maastricht, The Netherlands.ORCID 0000-0003-3105-9710

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundQualitative motion analysis revealed that the cervical spine moves according to a consistent pattern. Current data analysis methods are limited by the extensive time required to process the retrieved data. A previous study demonstrated the feasibility of using a deep-learning model to automate analysis methods. However, segmentation accuracy needed to be improved. This study aims to improve segmentation model performance to enable reliable motion analysis.

methodsFour nnU-Net configurations were tested: baseline (A), pre-trained (B), with histogram equalization (C), and pre-trained with histogram equalization (D). Segmentation performance was evaluated using Dice Similarity Coefficient (DSC), Intersection over Union (IoU) and 95th percentile Hausdorff Distance (HD95). Vertebral rotation was estimated using mean shapes. Reliability was assessed using the Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC). Sensitivity analyses were conducted.

resultsAcross all models, mean DSC ranged from 0.67 to 0.92, mean IoU from 0.55 to 0.85, and mean HD95 from 2.35 to 19.67 mm. After sensitivity analysis for low segmental range of motion (sROM) and low-quality recordings, the mean ICC ranged from 0.617 to 0.837 for model A, from 0.609 to 0.780 for model B, from 0.409 to 0.689 for model C, and from 0.480 to 0.835 for model D.

conclusionsThis study shows that Models A and B can accurately analyze cervical motion patterns. High image contrast and an adequate sROM are essential for robust model performance. It also marks an important step toward automated qualitative motion analysis, increasing the accessibility of motion pattern evaluation.

Indexed as

cervical spineimage segmentationmotion patternnnU-netqualitative motion analysisX-ray recordings

Identifiers

PMID41899882
PMCPMC13024292

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.