Artificial Intelligence-based Image Processing Methods to Advance the Characterization of Polycystic Kidney Disease (AI4PKD)

The primary aim of this observational exploratory study is to develop AI-based image processing methods to advance the characterization of Polycystic Kidney Disease using medical images and associated clinical data, including:

  1. AI-based fully automatic segmentation techniques for the accurate identification of kidneys, liver, and cysts, with a focus on AI interpretability and robustness;
  2. advanced AI-based image processing techniques allowing to identify new imaging biomarkers, including through the use of radiomics, to characterize ADPKD tissue microstructure and therefore stage the disease and monitor and predict disease progression and response to therapy;
  3. multiparametric models including image-based radiomic features alongside clinical and laboratory data to stratify ADPKD patients and predict ADPKD progression over time.

The study will also have the secondary aim of validating the novel techniques against gold standard (manual) methods, when available.

Study Overview

Status

Active, not recruiting

Detailed Description

Autosomal Dominant Polycystic Kidney Disease (ADPKD) is the most prevalent hereditary kidney disease, affecting 12.5 million people worldwide in all ethnic groups. ADPKD is caused by a gene mutation in either PKD1 or PKD2, that leads to the formation and growing of multiple fluid-filled cysts in the kidneys and often the liver, leading to chronic kidney injury and ultimately end-stage renal disease. In ADPKD, kidney function may remain normal for several decades and is therefore not fully informative. The identification of early biomarkers able to accurately monitor and predict disease progression in order to take prompt action and select targeting treatment options is urgently needed. Total kidney volume has been recognized as a prognostic biomarker to select patients for clinical trials and is acknowledged by the scientific community as a relevant biomarker to monitor disease progression and response to therapy, and to predict ADPKD course. Total kidney volume can be quantified using medical images, such as Ultrasound, Computed Tomography, and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). Renal non-contrast enhanced MRI, denoted by high resolution and with no need for contrast agents or ionizing radiation, is the most suited to monitor total kidney volume progression over time and clearly detect kidney cysts. Since many ADPKD patients also have polycystic livers, total liver and liver cyst volume may provide additional relevant information.

Total kidney, liver, and cyst volume measurements are based on kidney segmentation, which is generally performed by manual contouring, an operator-dependent and time-consuming task requiring dedicated expertise. Automatic or semi-automatic methods for kidney and cysts segmentation have been proposed in the past based on traditional approaches and artificial intelligence (AI) techniques. However, the low explainability and the need of large and curated datasets allowing to obtain accurate and generalized models have so far hampered their wide adoption in clinical research. A fully automatic segmentation method for the accurate identification of kidneys, liver, and cysts would be highly desirable.

Beyond kidney, liver, and cyst volume quantification, the characterization of non-cystic renal tissue may provide additional relevant information on ADPKD pathophysiology. Few years ago, a contrastenhanced CT study revealed the presence of peritubular interstitial fibrosis in the non-cystic component of ADPKD kidneys, that was associated with renal function and its decline over time, confirmed more recently by an independent study on dynamic contrast-enhanced T1-weighted MRI. Advanced image processing techniques, such as radiomics, which aims to compute high throughput information from radiological images for the characterization of tissue spatial heterogeneity, show potential to characterise tissue microstructure. Preliminary attempts on ADPKD patients were performed on T1-weighted and T2-weighted MRI scans. Besides, radiomics could be helpful to build multiparametric stratification and prediction models including image-based features.

Study Type

Observational

Enrollment (Estimated)

100

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

    • BG
      • Ranica, BG, Italy, 24020
        • Clinical Research Centre for Rare Diseases Aldo e Cele Daccò

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Child
  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

For this study the following pseudonymised medical images and associated clinical data will be used:

  1. Images and clinical data acquired in the context of ADPKD studies promoted by IRFMN
  2. Images and clinical data coming from the CYSTic1 study repository, required in accordance with CYSTic1 Sponsor (University of Sheffield, UK) guidance
  3. Images and clinical data coming from the Consortium for Radiologic Imaging Studies of Polycystic Kidney Disease (CRISP) public dataset (https://repository.niddk.nih.gov/studies/crisp1/), required in accordance with the CRISP guidance.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Patients with ADPKD

Exclusion Criteria:

  • None

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort
Patients
ADPKD patients

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Image-processing methods
Time Frame: From image acquisition to study end at 10 years
Develop AI-based image processing methods using medical images and associated clinical data from ADPKD studies ad repositories
From image acquisition to study end at 10 years

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Investigators

  • Study Director: Giuseppe Remuzzi, M.D., Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri IRCCS

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

October 12, 2024

Primary Completion (Estimated)

October 1, 2034

Study Completion (Estimated)

October 1, 2034

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

November 13, 2024

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

November 13, 2024

First Posted (Estimated)

November 14, 2024

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimated)

November 14, 2024

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

November 13, 2024

Last Verified

November 1, 2024

More Information

Terms related to this study

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

UNDECIDED

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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