title: Computerized method of lesion volume quantitation in multiple sclerosis: error of serial studies.
abstract: This study was designed to evaluate a potentially important source of error in T2-hyperintense lesion measurement unique to longitudinal multiple sclerosis treatment trials that would not be detected by the standard intraobserver and interobserver error analyses. The effect of this "error of serial studies" was tested by using the standard-of-reference manual-outlining approach and a modified bi-feature space (statistical) approach applied to a database of five consecutive patients. To simulate the conditions of a longitudinal treatment trial, each patient had immediate repeat MR studies of the brain with imperfect head repositioning. The study hypothesis was confirmed that with an improved quantitative methodology, the "error of serial studies" (interseries error) would exceed the intraobserver error.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, Denver 80262, USA.
authors.forename: J H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Simon
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Scherzinger
authors.forename: U
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Raff
authors.forename: X
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology; D003951:Diagnostic Errors; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted / Q000295:instrumentation*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008432:Mathematical Computing; D009103:Multiple Sclerosis / Q000175:diagnosis*; D015588:Observer Variation; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity