ROI-Guided Lumbar Spine Degeneration Detection

Lumbar Spine Degeneration, otherwise known as Disk Degeneration Disease, is the deterioration/weakening of the intervertebral disks in the lower back, causing them to lose their ability to absorb shock and potentially leading to pain and discomfort due to nerve compression. While lumbar degeneration is a natural part of aging, its progression and severity can vary from person to person. Early detection and classification of the type and stage of degeneration are crucial for effective management and treatment. We are using the power of AI to automate the detection of lumbar degeneration.

Firstly, We merge and pre-process the Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scans to convert them to RGB images, comprised with multi-label diseases per image.Then, we used an YOLO(You Only Look Once) architecture to detect the region of interests (ROI) that include the intervertebral disks in the MRI scans from both Sagittal and Axial Plane. Finally, the ROIs are classified into different degree of degeneration.

The goal of this research is to detect Lumbar Spine Degeneration as early as possible in order to ensure the best quality of life and outcome for the patient.