The Consistency of An Optical Body Surface Scanning Method Compared with Computed Tomography: A Validation Study

Abstract Objective The ideal non-invasive method for evaluation of pectus excavatum remains to be defined. We sought to verify the accuracy of an optical body surface scanning method compared with conventional CT scan. Materials and methods A PrimeSense 3D sensor was used to obtain data from patients undergoing surgical or non-invasive treatment for pectus excavatum. The Haller index, external Haller index, depth ratio were then calculated from both body scan and computed tomography scan data for the same patients. Statistical analyses were carried out to find if there is consistency between data from body scanning and computed tomography. Results Data acquisition is complete. In total, 40 patients (median age: 5.03 years, 11 female) with pectus excavatum undergoing non-operative (n = 13) or surgical Nuss treatment (n = 27) were included. The Haller index was lower in vacuum bell patients, which also had a higher female proportion. Pearson correlation coefficient between external Haller indices from body scanning and from computed tomography and between the depth ratios from body scanning and from computed tomography were 0.63, 0.84, respectively. By intraclass correlation coefficient method, the correlation coefficient was 0.56 between external Haller indices from body scanning and from computed tomography, 0.80 between depth ratios from body scanning and from computed tomography. Conclusion The optical body surface scanning is a reliable approach to the measurement of PE severity and could be routinely used in the monitoring of PE development of treatment, especially in the pediatric population. Study type Diagnostic Test. Level of evidence LEVEL II.