Diagnostic Efficacy of Structural MRI in Patients With Mild-to-Moderate Alzheimer Disease: Automated Volumetric Assessment Versus Visual Assessment.

OBJECTIVE. The purpose of this study was to compare the diagnostic efficacies of an automated volumetric assessment tool and visual assessment in the evaluation of medial temporal lobar atrophy in mild-to-moderate Alzheimer disease (AD). MATERIALS AND METHODS. This retrospective study included 30 patients with mild-to-moderate AD and 25 age-matched healthy control subjects undergoing MRI with a 3D fast spoiled gradient recalled-echo sequence at 3 T. The images were processed with fully automated volumetric analysis software. To assess medial temporal lobe (MTL) atrophy, two MTL indexes, which took into account the volumes of the hippocampus and the inferior lateral ventricle, were calculated with the automated volumetric assessment software. In addition, two neuroradiologists assessed MTL atrophy visually using the Scheltens scale. ROC curve analysis was used to compare the diagnostic performances of the two methods. The weighted kappa statistic was used to assess the intrarater and interrater reliability...