Detection of simulated chest lesions by using soft-copy reading: comparison of an amorphous silicon flat-panel-detector system and a storage-phosphor system.
OBJECTIVE
To compare observer performance by using soft-copy images produced by an amorphous silicon flat-panel-detector system and a storage-phosphor system for the detection of simulated chest lesions.


METHODS
To test the diagnostic performance of these two systems, four types of simulated lesions (nodules, micronodules, lines, and reticular opacities) were superimposed over an anthropomorphic chest phantom. Digital chest radiographs were acquired with amorphous silicon flat-panel-detector (3-K [K = 1,000] matrix, 12 bits) and storage-phosphor radiography (4-K matrix, 10 bits). Six board-certified radiologists evaluated soft-copy images on a high-resolution video monitor (2,048 x 2,560 x 8 bits). A total of 14,400 observations were analyzed in terms of receiver operating characteristics.


RESULTS
Average performance in terms of nodule detection was significantly better (P <.05) with the flat-panel-detector system than with the storage-phosphor system. For micronodules, lines, and reticular opacities, no significant detection differences in averaged performance were found between the two detector systems.


CONCLUSIONS
In the evaluation of soft-copy images, the amorphous silicon detector system appears to be superior to the storage-phosphor system for the detection of pulmonary nodules.
Goo
Jin Mo
JM
Department of Radiology, Seoul National University College of Medicine and the Institute of Radiation Medicine, SNUMRC, Clinical Research Institute, 28 Yongon-dong, Chongno-gu, Seoul 110-744, Korea.
Im
Jung-Gi
JG
Lee
Hyun Ju
HJ
Chung
Myung Jin
MJ
Seo
Joon Beom
JB
Kim
Hyae Young
HY
Lee
Yu-Jin
YJ
Kang
Joon-Won
JW
Kim
Jong Hyo
JH
D008171:Lung Diseases / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D019047:Phantoms, Imaging; D011859:Radiography; D011873:Radiology Information Systems; D012825:Silicon
D012825:Silicon