Associations between Vertebral Localized Contrast Changes and Adjacent Annular Fissures in Patients with Low Back Pain: A Radiomics Approach

Low back pain (LBP) is multifactorial and associated with various spinal tissue changes, including intervertebral disc fissures, vertebral pathology, and damaged endplates. However, current radiological markers lack specificity and individualized diagnostic capability, and the interactions between the various markers are not fully clear. Radiomics, a data-driven analysis of radiological images, offers a promising approach to improve evaluation and deepen the understanding of spinal changes related to LBP. This study investigated possible associations between vertebral changes and annular fissures using radiomics. A dataset of 61 LBP patients who underwent conventional magnetic resonance imaging followed by discography was analyzed. Radiomics features were extracted from segmented vertebrae and carefully reduced to identify the most relevant features associated with annular fissures. The results revealed three important texture features that display concentrated high-intensity gray levels, extensive regions with elevated gray levels, and localized areas with reduced gray levels within the vertebrae. These features highlight patterns within vertebrae that conventional classification systems cannot reflect on distinguishing between vertebrae adjacent to an intervertebral disc with or without an annular fissure. As such, the present study reveals associations that contribute to the understanding of pathophysiology and may provide improved diagnostics of LBP.