Digital chest imaging using a selenium detector. The impact of hard copy size on observer performance: a computed tomography-controlled study.
OBJECTIVE
The authors compare radiologist detection performance under clinical conditions for assessment of the effect of size reduction on the diagnostic performance of digital chest images obtained with a selenium detector.


METHODS
Sixty-five patients were examined with the digital system. The images were acquired without an antiscatter grid. Sixty-five posteroanterior life-size images (35 x 43 cm) and sixty-five posteroanterior minified images (56% of life size) were analyzed by three observers for detection of pulmonary, mediastinal, and pleural pathology, using computed tomography as the reference standard. The diagnostic value of life-size and minified images for the detection of these chest abnormalities was analyzed with receiver operating characteristic (ROC) methods.


RESULTS
For the detection of the various abnormalities by all radiologists, the areas under the ROC curves with life-size images versus minified images, respectively, were as follows: pulmonary opacities, 0.78 versus 0.78; interstitial disease, 0.74 versus 0.75; mediastinal disease, 0.70 versus 0.72; and pleural abnormalities 0.72 versus 0.67.


CONCLUSIONS
There was no statistically significant difference between the radiologists' performance in detecting pulmonary, mediastinal, and pleural pathology with life-size versus that with minified (56% of life size) digital selenium chest radiography.
van Heesewijk
H P
HP
Department of Diagnostic Radiology, St. Antonius Hospital, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
van der Graff
Y
Y
de Valois
J C
JC
Vos
J A
JA
Feldberg
M A
MA
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008171:Lung Diseases / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D008297:Male; D008477:Mediastinal Diseases / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D008875:Middle Aged; D011856:Radiographic Image Enhancement / Q000295:instrumentation*; D013902:Radiography, Thoracic / Q000295:instrumentation*; D012643:Selenium; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed
D012643:Selenium