Exploring the limit of image resolution for human expert classification of vascular ultrasound images in giant cell arteritis and healthy subjects: the GCA-US-AI project.

Journal: Annals of the rheumatic diseases
Published Date: Jun 12, 2025

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: Prompt diagnosis of giant cell arteritis (GCA) with ultrasound is crucial for preventing severe ocular and other complications, yet expertise in ultrasound performance is scarce. The development of an artificial intelligence (AI)-based assistant that facilitates ultrasound image classification and helps to diagnose GCA early promises to close the existing gap. In the projection of the planned AI, this study investigates the minimum image resolution required for human experts to reliably classify ultrasound images of arteries commonly affected by GCA for the presence or absence of GCA.

Authors

  • Claus-Juergen Bauer
    Clinic of Internal Medicine III - Rheumatology, University Hospital Bonn, Bonn, Germany. Electronic address: claus-juergen.bauer@ukbonn.de.
  • Stavros Chrysidis
    Department of Rheumatology, University Hospital of Southern Denmark, Esbjerg, Denmark.
  • Christian Dejaco
    Department of Rheumatology and Immunology, Medical University Graz, Graz, Austria; Department of Rheumatology, Hospital of Bruneck (ASAA-SABES), Teaching Hospital of the Paracelsius Medical University, Bruneck, Italy.
  • Matthew J Koster
    Division of Rheumatology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA.
  • Minna J Kohler
    Division of Rheumatology, Allergy and Immunology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
  • Sara Monti
    IRCCS Istituto Auxologico Italiano, Immunorheumatology Research Laboratory, Milan, Italy.
  • Wolfgang A Schmidt
    Rheumatology, Immanuel Krankenhaus Berlin, Medical Centre for Rheumatology Berlin-Buch, Berlin, Germany.
  • Chetan B Mukhtyar
    Vasculitis Service, Rheumatology Department, Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital, Norwich, UK.
  • Pantelis Karakostas
    Clinic of Internal Medicine III - Rheumatology, University Hospital Bonn, Bonn, Germany.
  • Marcin Milchert
    Department of Rheumatology, Internal Medicine, Geriatrics and Clinical Immunology, Pomeranian Medical University in Szczecin, Szczecin, Poland.
  • Cristina Ponte
    Department of Rheumatology, ULS de Santa Maria, Centro Académico de Medicina de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal; Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, Centro Académico de Medicina de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal.
  • Christina Duftner
    Department of Internal Medicine, Clinical Division of Internal Medicine II, Medical University Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria.
  • Eugenio de Miguel
    Rheumatology, Hospital Universitario La Paz, Madrid, Spain.
  • Alojzija Hocevar
    Department of Rheumatology, Ljubljana University Medical Centre, Ljubljana, Slovenia.
  • Annamaria Iagnocco
    Università degli Studi di Torino, Turin, Italy.
  • Lene Terslev
    Department of Clinical Medicine, Copenhagen University, Copenhagen, Denmark; Copenhagen Center for Arthritis Research (COPECARE), Center for Rheumatology and Spine Diseases, Rigshospitalet, Glostrup, Denmark.
  • Uffe Møller Døhn
    Copenhagen Center for Arthritis Research (COPECARE), Center for Rheumatology and Spine Diseases, Rigshospitalet, Glostrup, Denmark.
  • Berit Dalsgaard Nielsen
    Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark; Department of Rheumatology, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark; Department of Medicine, The Regional Hospital in Horsens, Horsens, Denmark.
  • Aaron Juche
    Department of Rheumatology, Immanuel Hospital, Berlin, Germany.
  • Luca Seitz
    Department of Rheumatology and Immunology, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, Switzerland.
  • Kresten Krarup Keller
    Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark; Department of Rheumatology, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark.
  • Rositsa Karalilova
    Medical University of Plovdiv, Clinic of Rheumatology, University Hospital "Kaspela", Plovdiv, Bulgaria.
  • Thomas Daikeler
    Clinic for Rheumatology, University Hospital Basel, Basel, Switzerland.
  • Sarah Louise Mackie
    Leeds Institute of Rheumatic and Musculoskeletal Medicine, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK; Leeds Biomedical Research Centre, Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, Leeds, UK.
  • Karina Torralba
    Division of Rheumatology, Department of Medicine, Loma Linda University School of Medicine, Loma Linda, CA, USA.
  • Kornelis S M van der Geest
    Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands.
  • Dennis Boumans
    Department of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, Hospital Group Twente, Almelo, The Netherlands.
  • Philipp Bosch
    Department of Rheumatology and Immunology, Medical University Graz, Graz, Austria.
  • Alessandro Tomelleri
    Unit of Immunology, Rheumatology, Allergy and Rare Diseases, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy.
  • Markus Aschwanden
    Department of Angiology, University Hospital Basel, Basel, Switzerland.
  • Tanaz A Kermani
    Rheumatology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
  • Andreas Diamantopoulos
    Department of Infectious Diseases, Akershus University Hospital, Lørenskog, Norway.
  • Ulrich Fredberg
    Regional Hospital Northern Jutland, Hjorring, Denmark; Department of Rheumatology, Odense University Hospital, Odense, Denmark.
  • Nevsun Inanc
    Division of Rheumatology, Marmara University School of Medicine, Istanbul, Turkey.
  • Simon M Petzinna
    Clinic of Internal Medicine III - Rheumatology, University Hospital Bonn, Bonn, Germany.
  • Shadi Albarqouni
  • Charlotte Behning
    Institute of Medical Biometry, Informatics and Epidemiology, University Hospital of Bonn, Bonn, Germany.
  • Valentin Sebastian Schäfer
    Clinic of Internal Medicine III - Rheumatology, University Hospital Bonn, Bonn, Germany.

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