Segmentation and quantification of hand synovitis in rheumatoid arthritis on DCE-MRI-based clustering

Volumetry of enhancing pannus can be used as a marker for disease activity in synovial proliferative disorders such as RA. Enhancing pannus quantified by manual outlining as well as semiquantitative visual assessment of synovitis is too time-consuming to be justified in busy clinical practice. Our study showed great potential for automated quantitative segmentation and quantification of enhancing pannus, which would allow for accurate estimation of disease aggressiveness and thus prompt early therapeutic intervention for patients and assessment of treatment efficacy without increasing the burden on physicians.