Analysis of Cervical Spinal MRI With Deep Learning

Neck pain is a very common health problem with a worldwide prevalence ranging from 16.7% to 75.1%. The source of neck pain is often considered - although there is no strong evidence - the cervical intervertebral disc. Radiological imaging methods are used for the detection of degeneration of the discs and the end plaque changes in the vertebral body corresponding to this degeneration.Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) gives information about the structure of intervertebral disc, width of spinal canal and tissues outside the canal. However, there is no standardization in the identification and evaluation of radiological images, and interobserver variability is high. Studies have been initiated on automated systems that analyze MRI images to increase the accuracy and consistency of reporting procedures. Examining MRI images with deep learning can lead to the production of systems that help clinical decision making and also allows the evaluation of large data in a short time.