Automated measurement of alpha angle on 3D-magnetic resonance imaging in femoroacetabular impingement hips: a pilot study

Background Femoroacetabular impingement (FAI) syndrome is an established pre-osteoarthritic condition. Diagnosis is based on both clinical and radiographic parameters. An abnormal manually calculated alpha angle in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is traditionally utilized to diagnose abnormal femoral head-neck offset. This pilot study aimed to assess the feasibility of automated alpha angle measurements in patients with FAI syndrome, and to compare automated with manual measurements data with regard to the time and effort needed in each method. Methods Alpha angles were measured with manual and automated techniques, using postprocessing software in nineteen hip MRIs of FAI syndrome patients. Two observers conducted manual measurements. Intra- and inter-observer reproducibility and correlation of manual and automated alpha angle measurements were calculated using intra-class correlation (ICC) analysis. Both techniques were compared regarding the time taken (in minutes) and effort required, measured as the amount of mouse button presses performed. Results The first observer’s intra-observer reproducibility was good (ICC 0.77; p < 0.001) while the second observer’s was good-to-excellent (ICC 0.93; p < 0.001). Inter-observer reproducibility between both observers in the first (ICC 0.45; p < 0.001) and second (ICC 0.56; p < 0.001) manual alpha angle assessment was moderate. The intra-class correlation coefficients between manual and automated alpha angle measurements were ICC = 0.24 (p = 0.052; observer 1, 1st measurement), ICC = 0.32 (p = 0.015; observer 1, 2nd measurement), ICC = 0.50 (p < 0.001; observer 2, 1st measurement), and ICC = 0.45 (p < 0.001; observer 2, 2nd measurement). Average runtime for automatic processing of the image data for the automated assessment was 16.6 ± 1.9 min. Automatic alpha angle measurements took longer (time difference: 14.6 ± 3.9 min; p < 0.001) but required less effort (difference in button presses: 231 ± 23; p < 0.001). While the automatic processing is running, the user can perform other tasks. Conclusions This pilot study demonstrates that objective and reliable automated alpha angle measurement of MRIs in FAI syndrome hips is feasible. Trial registration The Ethics Committee of the University of Düsseldorf approved our study (Registry-ID: 2017084398).