{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,4]],"date-time":"2026-05-04T04:24:48Z","timestamp":1777868688656,"version":"3.51.4"},"reference-count":41,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"9","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,30]],"date-time":"2026-04-30T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1777507200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Intramural Research Program of the National Institutes of Health"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Diagnostics"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background\/Objectives: MRI is a non-invasive tool which can be used to assess baseline gonadal anatomy, including changes during puberty. Volumetric characterization offers valuable insights about the reproductive system and gonads, but annotation is cumbersome, and no AI tool is currently available. This study aimed to develop two open-source AI models to segment bilateral gonads at MRI scans in healthy subjects. Materials and Methods: This study uses a longitudinal dataset consisting of 182 MRIs from 22 healthy girls (median age 13) and 266 MRIs from 44 healthy boys (median age 13) from a single institute. MRI acquisition included T2-weighted (T2W) sequence, along with fat-saturated (FS) T2W when indicated. An expert radiologist segmented gonadal anatomy, including ovarian cysts (&gt;3 cm). Three-dimensional nnUnet models were trained for ovary, cyst, and testicle segmentation, respectively. The ovary\u2013cyst segmentation model was applied to an external dataset with 30 adult subjects. Model performance was evaluated on the test set using the Dice similarity coefficient for ovary (DSCOV), cyst (DSCCY), and testicles (DSCTS). Subject-level total volumes for ovaries (TOV), cysts (TCV), and testicles (TTV) were computed. Results: Ovary, cyst, and testicle segmentation models achieved DSCOV of 0.86, DSCCY of 0.69, and DSCTS of 0.90 in the in-house test set, respectively. Average mean difference with 95% confidence intervals for TOV, TCV, and TTV were 0.87 (\u22125.78, 7.5), \u22120.41 (\u22123.3, 2.5), and 0.19 (\u22121.5, 1.9) cm3, respectively. Conclusions: The developed models show promising and reliable performance in volumetric and morphologic evaluation of gonads during puberty.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/diagnostics16091357","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,30]],"date-time":"2026-04-30T12:20:25Z","timestamp":1777551625000},"page":"1357","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Artificial Intelligence-Based Approach for Automated Gonad Volume Quantification Using Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Healthy Adolescents Across Puberty"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"16","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2023-2258","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Fahmida","family":"Haque","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Artificial Intelligence Resource, National Cancer Institute, National Institute of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA"},{"name":"Molecular Imaging Branch, National Cancer Institute, National Institute of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Stephanie A.","family":"Harmon","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Artificial Intelligence Resource, National Cancer Institute, National Institute of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA"},{"name":"Molecular Imaging Branch, National Cancer Institute, National Institute of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8337-1231","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Allison","family":"Kumnick","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institute of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Mary","family":"Soliman","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institute of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Karen F.","family":"Berman","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Section on Integrative Neuroimaging, Clinical and Translational Neuroscience Branch, National Institute of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8542-1637","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jack A.","family":"Yanovski","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Section on Growth and Obesity, Division of Intramural Research, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institute of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Evrim B.","family":"Turkbey","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Radiology and Imaging Sciences Department, National Institute of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Lynnette K.","family":"Nieman","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Diabetes, Endocrinology, and Obesity Branch, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institute of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Veronica","family":"Gomez-Lobo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institute of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Shau-Ming","family":"Wei","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Section on Behavioral Endocrinology, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institute of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Peter J.","family":"Schmidt","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Section on Behavioral Endocrinology, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institute of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Baris","family":"Turkbey","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Artificial Intelligence Resource, National Cancer Institute, National Institute of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA"},{"name":"Molecular Imaging Branch, National Cancer Institute, National Institute of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,30]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","first-page":"394","article-title":"Puberty: Gonadarche and Adrenarche","volume":"Volume 8","author":"Strauss","year":"2019","journal-title":"Yen and Jaffe\u2019s Reproductive 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