Performance and limitation of machine learning algorithms for diabetic retinopathy screening: Meta-analysis

Jo Hsuan Wu, T. Y.Alvin Liu, Wan Ting Hsu, Jennifer Hui Chun Ho, Chien Chang Lee*

*此作品的通信作者

研究成果: Review article同行評審

65 引文 斯高帕斯(Scopus)

摘要

Background: Diabetic retinopathy (DR), whose standard diagnosis is performed by human experts, has high prevalence and requires a more efficient screening method. Although machine learning (ML)-based automated DR diagnosis has gained attention due to recent approval of IDx-DR, performance of this tool has not been examined systematically, and the best ML technique for use in a real-world setting has not been discussed. Objective: The aim of this study was to systematically examine the overall diagnostic accuracy of ML in diagnosing DR of different categories based on color fundus photographs and to determine the state-of-the-art ML approach. Methods: Published studies in PubMed and EMBASE were searched from inception to June 2020. Studies were screened for relevant outcomes, publication types, and data sufficiency, and a total of 60 out of 2128 (2.82%) studies were retrieved after study selection. Extraction of data was performed by 2 authors according to PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses), and the quality assessment was performed according to the Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies 2 (QUADAS-2). Meta-analysis of diagnostic accuracy was pooled using a bivariate random effects model. The main outcomes included diagnostic accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity of ML in diagnosing DR based on color fundus photographs, as well as the performances of different major types of ML algorithms. Results: The primary meta-analysis included 60 color fundus photograph studies (445,175 interpretations). Overall, ML demonstrated high accuracy in diagnosing DR of various categories, with a pooled area under the receiver operating characteristic (AUROC) ranging from 0.97 (95% CI 0.96-0.99) to 0.99 (95% CI 0.98-1.00). The performance of ML in detecting more-than-mild DR was robust (sensitivity 0.95; AUROC 0.97), and by subgroup analyses, we observed that robust performance of ML was not limited to benchmark data sets (sensitivity 0.92; AUROC 0.96) but could be generalized to images collected in clinical practice (sensitivity 0.97; AUROC 0.97). Neural network was the most widely used method, and the subgroup analysis revealed a pooled AUROC of 0.98 (95% CI 0.96-0.99) for studies that used neural networks to diagnose more-than-mild DR. Conclusions: This meta-analysis demonstrated high diagnostic accuracy of ML algorithms in detecting DR on color fundus photographs, suggesting that state-of-the-art, ML-based DR screening algorithms are likely ready for clinical applications. However, a significant portion of the earlier published studies had methodology flaws, such as the lack of external validation and presence of spectrum bias. The results of these studies should be interpreted with caution.

原文English
文章編號e23863
期刊Journal of Medical Internet Research
23
發行號7
DOIs
出版狀態Published - 7月 2021

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