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Use of 3D ultrasound to characterise temporal changes in thyroid nodules: an in vitro study

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Abstract

Objective

Thyroid nodules are extremely common, with prevalence rate up to 68%, yet only 7–15% of these are malignant. Many nodules require surveillance and 2-dimensional ultrasound (2D US) is used. Issues include the huge workload of obtaining and labeling images and difficulty comparing sizes of nodules over time due to large inter-operator variability. Inaccuracies may result in unnecessary FNAC or missed diagnosis of malignant nodules.

Methods

We compared two techniques: freehand plain 2D US against freehand 2D US with gyroscopic guidance, both followed by 3D reconstruction using software. We measured the volume of nodules and a normal thyroid gland.

Results

We found 2D US with gyroscopic guidance to be superior to plain 2D US as 3D reconstructions of greater accuracy are produced. The volume of the thyroid lobe measured 8.42 cm3 ± 0.94 was reasonably close to the normal average volume. However, the measured volume of the ellipsoidal nodule by the software is 8.69 cm3 ± 0.97 while the measured volume of the spherical nodule is 7.09 cm3 ± 0.79. As the expected volume of the nodules were 4.24cm3 and 4.19 cm3 respectively, the measured volume of the nodule was not accurate. The time taken to characterise nodules was reduced greatly from over 30 min in usual procedure to less than 10 min.

Conclusion

We find 3D US promising for evaluating size of thyroid nodules, with potential to study other TIRAD characteristics. Freehand 2D US with gyroscopic guidance shows the most promise for producing reliable, accurate and faster 3D reconstructions of thyroid nodules.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Drs. Gao Yujia and Andrew Makmur for their support and advice.

Funding

This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore

    Aldred Cheng & Kee Yuan Ngiam

  2. Division of Endocrine Surgery, University Surgical Cluster, National University Hospital, Singapore, Singapore

    James Wai Kit Lee & Kee Yuan Ngiam

Authors
  1. Aldred Cheng
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  2. James Wai Kit Lee
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  3. Kee Yuan Ngiam
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Contributions

Aldred Cheng: conceptualisation, data curation, formal analysis, investigation, methodology, project administration, resources, supervision, validation, writing—original draft. James Wai Kit Lee: conceptualisation, data curation, formal analysis, investigation, methodology, project administration, resources, supervision, validation, writing—review and editing. Kee Yuan Ngiam: conceptualisation, data curation, formal analysis, investigation, methodology, project administration, resources, supervision, validation, writing—review and editing.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kee Yuan Ngiam.

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Conflict of interest

Aldred Cheng: no competing financial interests exist, James Wai Kit Lee: no competing financial interests exist, Kee Yuan Ngiam: no competing financial interests exist.

Ethical approval

This study has been submitted and approved by DSRB (reference number: 2021/00337). The study has been conducted in accordance with the experimental protocol submitted to and approved by DSRB. Informed consent was obtained from all human subjects for participation in the study and publishing.

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Cheng, A., Lee, J.W.K. & Ngiam, K.Y. Use of 3D ultrasound to characterise temporal changes in thyroid nodules: an in vitro study. J Ultrasound 26, 643–651 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40477-022-00698-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40477-022-00698-9

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