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CT imaging and lung segmentation analysis of SARS-CoV-2 variants and vaccination impacts on lung impairment quantification

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Abstract

This study analyzed Chest CT exams from 592 patients with SARS-CoV-2 between 2020 and 2022 using the open-source 3D Slicer software. We conducted lung segmentation and volume quantification to investigate inflated lung volume and different impairments volumes (inflammatory process and fibrosis, ground-glass opacities and the total affected lung) against SARS-CoV-2 variants (original strain, gamma, delta and omicron) during a mass vaccination campaign carried out in Botucatu/SP-Brazil (before, during, and after three doses). We aimed to verify whether these parameters (variants and vaccination) affected lung impairments. Our findings indicated that gamma variant was more detrimental than delta and omicron variants, with higher volumes in inflammatory process and fibrosis (13.78% against 9.00% and 8.90%), ground-glass opacity (31.73% against 25.81% and 29.04%) and total affected volume (45.99% against 35.26% and 38.43%), while a lower volume was observed for inflated lung volume (50.04% against 58.19% and 57.50%). The results also revealed substantial differences in pulmonary impairments between the first and the third vaccination stages. We noticed a reduction in volumes of inflammatory process and fibrosis (14.51% to 9.19%), ground-glass opacity (33.67% to 26.77%) and the total affected volume (48.60% to 36.42%), while inflated lung volume increased (48.80% to 58.12%). The study brings novelty approach and findings that enhances the understanding of variant-specific impacts on pulmonary impairments and highlights the vaccine efficacy in reducing lung damage from SARS-CoV-2.

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Data availability

No patient data (DICOM images) analyzed during this study are available on request. Our ethics committee only approved its use in this particular study.

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Acknowledgements

This research was funded by São Paulo Research Foundation—FAPESP (Process number: 2020/05539-9) and by Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technological Development—CNPQ (Process number: 304992/2022).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Residency in Medical Physics, Faculty of Medicine of Botucatu, São Paulo State University (UNESP), Botucatu, São Paulo, Brazil

    Marcos Aureliano Araujo Silva

  2. Clinical Hospital of Botucatu Medical School, São Paulo State University (UNESP), Botucatu, São Paulo, Brazil

    Matheus Alvarez

  3. Department of Tropical Diseases and Imaging Diagnosis, Faculty of Medicine of Botucatu, São Paulo State University (UNESP), Botucatu, São Paulo, 18618-000, Brazil

    Carlos Magno Castelo Branco Fortaleza, Lenice do Rosário de Souza & Diana Rodrigues de Pina

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  1. Marcos Aureliano Araujo Silva
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Correspondence to Diana Rodrigues de Pina.

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Silva, M.A.A., Alvarez, M., Fortaleza, C.M.C.B. et al. CT imaging and lung segmentation analysis of SARS-CoV-2 variants and vaccination impacts on lung impairment quantification. Multimed Tools Appl (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11042-024-18761-4

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