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Mayr, Sarah ; Dollinger, Margit ; Ehrenstein, Boris ; Günther, Florian ; Krammer, Olga Barbara ; Schuster, Antonia ; Büttner, Thomas ; Hiemann, Rico ; Schierack, Peter ; Roggenbuck, Dirk ; Fleck, Martin

Pilot Study of AI-Assisted ANA Immunofluorescence Reading—Comparison with Classical Visual Interpretation

Article

Mayr, Sarah, Dollinger, Margit, Ehrenstein, Boris , Günther, Florian, Krammer, Olga Barbara , Schuster, Antonia, Büttner, Thomas, Hiemann, Rico, Schierack, Peter, Roggenbuck, Dirk and Fleck, Martin (2025) Pilot Study of AI-Assisted ANA Immunofluorescence Reading—Comparison with Classical Visual Interpretation. Journal of Clinical Medicine 14 (19), p. 6924.

DOI to cite this document: 10.5283/epub.79826


Abstract

Background: Antinuclear antibodies (ANAs) play a crucial role in diagnosing systemic autoimmune rheumatic diseases, particularly systemic lupus erythematosus. The recommended standard for ANA detection is indirect immunofluorescence testing (IIFT) using human epithelial (HEp-2) cells. Since visual interpretation (VI) of IIFT images is time-consuming and labor-intensive, research is focusing on ...

Background: Antinuclear antibodies (ANAs) play a crucial role in diagnosing systemic autoimmune rheumatic diseases, particularly systemic lupus erythematosus. The recommended standard for ANA detection is indirect immunofluorescence testing (IIFT) using human epithelial (HEp-2) cells. Since visual interpretation (VI) of IIFT images is time-consuming and labor-intensive, research is focusing on automated interpretation systems that use artificial intelligence (AI). Methods: Consecutive serum samples (number of sera = 143) from routine clinical care were collected from patients visiting our tertiary rheumatology center. ANA were detected by IIFT with visual interpretation and compared with IIFT using the AI-based interpretation system akiron® NEO (Medipan, 15827 Blankenfelde-Mahlow, Germany). ANA titer levels and patterns were analyzed according to the Competent Level of the International Consensus on ANA Pattern classification. Results: Agreement of positive/negative ANA discrimination between AI-aided and VI-IIFT at the recommended cut-off of 80 was good (Cohen’s kappa [κ] 0.69) but significantly different (McNemar test, p < 0.0001). At a cut-off of ≥1/80, the agreement was improved (κ 0.76) and the difference between both methods was non-significant (p = 1.0000). The ANA pattern recognition agreement between both approaches was moderate (κ = 0.54). The direct comparison using only the akiron® NEO HEp-2 cell ANA assay revealed a good agreement (0.67), which improved to very good (κ = 0.80) when differences between ANA patterns anti-cell (AC)4/5 and AC2 were neglected. Notably, titer levels in the automated evaluations were frequently assessed at higher values than in the gold standard interpretation. Conclusions: Our study demonstrates a good agreement for positive/negative ANA discrimination. ANA pattern recognition by AI-aided interpretation showed moderate to very good agreement with VI. Further research and algorithm refinement (e.g., improved pattern recognition and titer calibration) are necessary to support its future implementation as a reliable screening method.



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Details

Item typeArticle
Journal or Publication TitleJournal of Clinical Medicine
PublisherMDPI
Open Access TypeGold (with APC)
Volume14
Number of Issue or Book Chapter19
Page Rangep. 6924
Date30 September 2025
Date of publication20 Jul 2026 10:55
InstitutionsMedicine > Lehrstuhl für Innere Medizin I
Identification Number
ValueType
10.3390/jcm14196924DOI
Keywordsantinuclear antibodies (ANA) immunofluorescence testing 2; artificial intelligence 3 diagnostic for rheumatic diseases
Dewey Decimal Classification600 Technology > 610 Medical sciences Medicine
StatusPublished
RefereedYes, this version has been refereed
Created at the University of RegensburgYes
URN of the UB Regensburgurn:nbn:de:bvb:355-epub-798262
Item ID79826

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