Table 2.
Differences between nodes with respect to vascularization parameters quantitatively determined with ImageJ and SMI
| Variables | Benign (N = 13) | Malignant (N = 3) | p-value | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mean ± SD | Median (range) | Mean ± SD | Median (range) | ||
| ROI longitudinal | 25.30 ± 10.69 | 22.33 (9.93–44.67) | 26.55 ± 0.79 | 26.12 (26.07–27.46) | 0.5905 |
| ROI longitudinal area fraction (%) | 0.25 ± 0.13 | 0.28 (0.02–0.43) | 0.31 ± 0.04 | 0.30(0.27–0.35) | 0.5905 |
| ROI cross (mm2) | 27.62 ± 11.13 | 23.68 (9.46–47.53) | 24.11 ± 7.31 | 28.15 (15.68–28.51) | 0.7879 |
| ROI cross area fraction (%) | 0.29 ± 0.15 | 0.27 (0.01–0.55) | 0.23 ± 0.09 | 0.28 (0.12–0.28) | 0.6865 |
| Quotient longitudinal | 0.88 ± 0.35 | 0.82 (0.37–1.67) | 1.13 ± 0.46 | 1.18 (0.64–1.56) | 0.5012 |
| Quotient longitudinal area fraction | 0.85 ± 0.66 | 0.64 (0.08–2.61) | 2.75 ± 3.02 | 1.59 (0.48–6.17) | 0.2818 |
| Quotient all | 0.88 ± 0.44 | 0.89 (0.28–1.54) | 1.07 ± 0.05 | 1.07 (1.02–1.12) | 0.4273 |
| Quotient all area fraction | 0.88 ± 0.89 | 0.58(0.14–3.28) | 1.13 ± 0.19 | 1.21 (0.91–1.26) | 0.2790 |
ROI: region of interest; longitudinal: longitudinal view of the ROI; area fraction: fraction of the area with blood flow compared to the total ROI area; cross: cross-sectional view of the ROI; Quotient: the indicated parameter measured in the thyroid gland lesion area (ROI-A) divided by the same parameter measured in the parenchymal tissue adjacent to the lesion (ROI-B); all: the quantified vascularization values measured in the total nodal area, divided by their counterparts measured in the parenchymal area, near the node in the same ROI