Academic Journal
Early prediction of joint space narrowing in rheumatoid arthritis using AI-quantified bilateral joint space asymmetry on hand radiography.
| Τίτλος: | Early prediction of joint space narrowing in rheumatoid arthritis using AI-quantified bilateral joint space asymmetry on hand radiography. |
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| Συγγραφείς: | Lu B; Faculty of Health Sciences, Hokkaido University, North-12, West-5, Kita-ku, Sapporo, 060-0812, Japan., Wang H; Graduate School of Health Sciences, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan., Fang W; Graduate School of Health Sciences, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan., Lau SL; Division of Rheumatology, Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China., Cheng I; Division of Rheumatology, Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China., Sutherland K; Global Center for Biomedical Science and Engineering, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan., Ikebe M; Research Center for Integrated Quantum Electronics, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan., Tam LS; Division of Rheumatology, Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China., Griffith JF; Department of Imaging and Interventional Radiology, Prince of Wales Hospital, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China., Wiriyanukhroh T; Faculty of Health Sciences, Hokkaido University, North-12, West-5, Kita-ku, Sapporo, 060-0812, Japan.; Department of Radiology, Phramongkutklao Hospital, Bangkok, Thailand., Ye Z; Faculty of Health Sciences, Hokkaido University, North-12, West-5, Kita-ku, Sapporo, 060-0812, Japan., Kamishima T; Faculty of Health Sciences, Hokkaido University, North-12, West-5, Kita-ku, Sapporo, 060-0812, Japan. ktamotamo2@hs.hokudai.ac.jp. |
| Πηγή: | Japanese journal of radiology [Jpn J Radiol] 2026 Aug; Vol. 44 (8), pp. 1425-1437. Date of Electronic Publication: 2026 Jul 01. |
| Τύπος έκδοσης: | Journal Article |
| Γλώσσα: | English |
| Στοιχεία περιοδικού: | Publisher: Springer Country of Publication: Japan NLM ID: 101490689 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1867-108X (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 18671071 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Jpn J Radiol Subsets: MEDLINE |
| Imprint Name(s): | Original Publication: Tokyo : Springer |
| Ιατρικοί όροι (MeSH): | Arthritis, Rheumatoid*/diagnostic imaging , Arthritis, Rheumatoid*/pathology , Tomography, X-Ray Computed*/methods , Hand Joints*/diagnostic imaging , Hand Joints*/pathology , Radiographic Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted*/methods , Artificial Intelligence*, Humans ; Disease Progression ; Female ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Predictive Value of Tests ; Aged |
| Περίληψη: | Purpose: Joint space narrowing (JSN) in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) can progress even during clinical remission. Conventional imaging lacks sensitivity for detecting early risks. This study evaluates AI-based analysis of bilateral joint-space asymmetry on hand radiographs to detect future JSN progression in radiographically normal RA. Materials and Methods: Forty-six radiographically normal RA patients underwent bilateral hand radiography and high-resolution peripheral quantitative computed tomography (HR-pQCT) at baseline, 12, and 24 months. Five joint space parameters were extracted from HR-pQCT. Gaussian mixture modeling (GMM) stratified patients into progressive and non-progressive phenotypes using 24 month data. An AI pipeline was developed to measure bilateral joint space asymmetry from baseline X-rays using deep learning-based segmentation and registration. Predictive models were constructed using logistic regression and evaluated via ROC curves. Results: GMM identified 17 progressive and 29 non-progressive patients. HR-pQCT-derived intra-joint space width inconsistency (JSW.Inc) increased significantly over time in progressors (p = 0.0337). At baseline, HR-pQCT-based JSW.Inc showed fair predictive power (AUC = 0.696). AI-derived asymmetry at PIP3 and MCP3 joints showed stronger baseline prediction (AUCs = 0.739 and 0.714, respectively). By month 12, predictive performance improved across models (AUCs up to 0.836 for HR-pQCT and 0.748 for AI-based metrics). Conclusions: AI-assisted analysis of bilateral joint space asymmetry from hand radiography may provide an accessible method for detecting radiographic JSN progression, with prognostic findings that should be interpreted as exploratory and hypothesis-generating. This method complements conventional imaging tools and may support future investigations into early risk stratification. (© 2026. The Author(s) under exclusive licence to Japan Radiological Society.) |
| Competing Interests: | Declarations. Competing Interests: The authors have no competing interests to declare that are relevant to the content of this article. Consent to participate: Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study. Ethical approval: This study was performed in line with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki. Approval was granted by the Joint Chinese University of Hong Kong – New Territories East Cluster Clinical Research Ethics Committee (No. 2016.431). |
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| Contributed Indexing: | Keywords: Artificial intelligence; HR-pQCT; Joint space asymmetry; Radiography; Rheumatoid arthritis |
| Entry Date(s): | Date Created: 20260701 Date Completed: 20260724 Latest Revision: 20261010 |
| Update Code: | 20261010 |
| DOI: | 10.1007/s11604-026-01989-5 |
| PMID: | 42384333 |
| Βάση Δεδομένων: | MEDLINE |
| ISSN: | 1867-108X |
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| DOI: | 10.1007/s11604-026-01989-5 |