Enhancing prediction of supraspinatus/infraspinatus tendon complex injuries through integration of deep visual features and clinical information: a multicenter two-round assessment study

Objective Develop and evaluate an ensemble clinical machine learning–deep learning (CML-DL) model integrating deep visual features and clinical data to improve the prediction of supraspinatus/infraspinatus tendon complex (SITC) injuries. Methods Patients with suspected SITC injuries were retrospectively recruited from two hospitals, with clinical data and shoulder x-ray radiographs collected. An ensemble CML-DL model was developed for diagnosing normal or insignificant rotator cuff abnormality (NIRCA) and significant rotator cuff tear (SRCT). All patients suspected with SRCT were confirmed by arthroscopy examination. The model’s performance was evaluated using sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, and area under the curve (AUC) metrics, and a two-round assessment was conducted to authenticate its clinical applicability. Results A total of 974 patients were divided into three cohorts: the training cohort ( n = 828), the internal validation cohort ( n = 89), and the external validation cohort ( n = 57). The CML-DL model, which integrates clinical and deep visual features, demonstrated superior performance compared to individual models of either type. The model’s sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, and area under curve (95% confidence interval) were 0.880, 0.812, 0.836, and 0.902 (0.858–0.947), respectively. The CML-DL model exhibited higher sensitivity and specificity compared to or on par with the physicians in all validation cohorts. Furthermore, the assistance of the ensemble CML-DL model resulted in a significant improvement in sensitivity for junior physicians in all validation cohorts, without any reduction in specificity. Conclusions The ensembled CML-DL model provides a solution to help physicians improve the diagnosis performance of SITC injury, especially for junior physicians with limited expertise. Critical relevance statement The ensembled clinical machine learning–deep learning (CML-DL) model integrating deep visual features and clinical data provides a superior performance in the diagnosis of supraspinatus/infraspinatus tendon complex (SITC) injuries, particularly for junior physicians with limited expertise. Key points 1. Integrating clinical and deep visual features improves diagnosing SITC injuries. 2. Ensemble CML-DL model validated for clinical use in two-round assessment. 3. Ensemble model boosts sensitivity in SITC injury diagnosis for junior physicians. Graphical Abstract