title: The study of diagnostic accuracy of chest nodules by using different compression methods.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The purpose of this study was to compare the diagnostic accuracy of small nodules in the chest by using different compression methods.
  
  
  METHODS
  Two radiologists with 5 years experience twice interpreted 39 chest images by using lossless and lossy compression methods. The time interval was 3 weeks. Each time the radiologists interpreted one kind of compressed images. The image browser used the Unisight software provided by Atlastiger Company in Shanghai. The interpreting results were analyzed by the ROCKIT software and the ROC curves were painted by Excel 2002.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In studies of receiver operating characteristics for scoring the presence or absence of nodules, the images with lossy compression method showed no statistical difference as compared with the images with lossless compression method.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The diagnostic accuracy of chest nodules by using the lossless and lossy compression methods had no significant difference, we could use the lossy compression method to transmit and archive the chest images with nodules.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital University of Medical Sciences, Beijing 100053, China. zg_liang@yahoo.com.cn
authors.forename: Liang
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhigang
authors.forename: L I
authors.initials: LI
authors.lastname: Kuncheng
authors.forename: Zhang
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Jinghong
authors.forename: Liu
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Shuliang
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D012372:ROC Curve; D013902:Radiography, Thoracic; D011873:Radiology Information Systems; D012984:Software; D003074:Solitary Pulmonary Nodule / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed