{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,17]],"date-time":"2026-10-17T05:18:24Z","timestamp":1792214304434,"version":"4.4.0"},"reference-count":45,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"19","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,10,2]],"date-time":"2024-10-02T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1727827200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["JCM"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background: The accurate segmentation of the appendix with well-defined boundaries is critical for diagnosing conditions such as acute appendicitis. The manual identification of the appendix is time-consuming and highly dependent on the expertise of the radiologist. Method: In this study, we propose a fully automated approach to the detection of the appendix using deep learning architecture based on the U-Net with specific training parameters in CT scans. The proposed U-Net architecture is trained on an annotated original dataset of abdominal CT scans to segment the appendix efficiently and with high performance. In addition, to extend the training set, data augmentation techniques are applied for the created dataset. Results: In experimental studies, the proposed U-Net model is implemented using hyperparameter optimization and the performance of the model is evaluated using key metrics to measure diagnostic reliability. The trained U-Net model achieved the segmentation performance for the detection of the appendix in CT slices with a Dice Similarity Coefficient (DSC), Volumetric Overlap Error (VOE), Average Symmetric Surface Distance (ASSD), Hausdorff Distance 95 (HD95), Precision (PRE) and Recall (REC) of 85.94%, 23.29%, 1.24 mm, 5.43 mm, 86.83% and 86.62%, respectively. Moreover, our model outperforms other methods by leveraging the U-Net\u2019s ability to capture spatial context through encoder\u2013decoder structures and skip connections, providing a correct segmentation output. Conclusions: The proposed U-Net model showed reliable performance in segmenting the appendix region, with some limitations in cases where the appendix was close to other structures. These improvements highlight the potential of deep learning to significantly improve clinical outcomes in appendix detection.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/jcm13195893","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,10,2]],"date-time":"2024-10-02T08:03:29Z","timestamp":1727856209000},"page":"5893","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":10,"title":["Fully Automated Detection of the Appendix Using U-Net Deep Learning Architecture in CT Scans"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"13","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7793-7887","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Bet\u00fcl Tiryaki","family":"Ba\u015ftu\u011f","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Radiology, Medical Faculty, Bilecik \u015eeyh Edebali University, Bilecik 11230, T\u00fcrkiye"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6749-2159","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"G\u00fcrkan","family":"G\u00fcneri","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of General Surgery, Medical Faculty, Bilecik \u015eeyh Edebali University, Bilecik 11230, T\u00fcrkiye"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3998-1542","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Mehmet S\u00fcleyman","family":"Y\u0131ld\u0131r\u0131m","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Sogut Vocational School, Computer Technology, Bilecik \u015eeyh Edebali University, Bilecik 11600, T\u00fcrkiye"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7616-4798","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Kadir","family":"\u00c7orbac\u0131","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of General Surgery, Bilecik Osmaneli Mustafa Selahattin \u00c7etinta\u015f Hospital, Bilecik 11500, T\u00fcrkiye"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6559-1399","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Emre","family":"Dand\u0131l","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Computer Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Bilecik Seyh Edebali University, Bilecik 11230, T\u00fcrkiye"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,10,2]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"115","DOI":"10.1038\/nature21056","article-title":"Dermatologist-level classification of skin cancer with deep neural networks","volume":"542","author":"Esteva","year":"2017","journal-title":"Nature"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"89","DOI":"10.1038\/s41586-019-1799-6","article-title":"International evaluation of an AI system for breast cancer screening","volume":"577","author":"McKinney","year":"2020","journal-title":"Nature"},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Obuchowicz, R., Strzelecki, M., and Pi\u00f3rkowski, A. 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