title: Contrast-detail evaluation and dose assessment of eight digital chest radiography systems in clinical practice.
abstract: The purpose of this study was to assess contrast-detail performance and effective dose of eight different digital chest radiography systems. Digital chest radiography systems from different manufacturers were included: one storage phosphor system, one selenium-coated drum system, and six direct readout systems including four thin-film transistor (TFT) systems and two charge-coupled device (CCD) systems. For measuring image quality, a contrast-detail test object was used in combination with a phantom that simulates the primary and scatter transmission through lung fields (LucAl). Six observers judged phantom images of each modality by soft-copy reading in a four-alternative-forced-choice experiment. The entrance dose was also measured, and the effective dose was calculated for an average patient. Contrast-detail curves were constructed from the observer data. The blocked two-way ANOVA test was used for statistical analysis. Significant difference in contrast-detail performance was found between the systems. Best contrast-detail performance was shown by a CCD system with slot-scan technology, and the selenium-coated drum system was compared to the other six systems (p values <or=0.003). Calculated effective dose varied between 0.010 mSv and 0.032 mSv. Significant differences in contrast-detail performance and effective dose levels were found between different digital chest radiography systems in clinical practice.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, C2S, Leiden University Medical Center, Albinusdreef 2, 2333 ZA, Leiden, The Netherlands. w.j.h.veldkamp@lumc.nl
authors.forename: Wouter J H
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Veldkamp
authors.forename: Lucia J M
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Kroft
authors.forename: Mireille V
authors.initials: MV
authors.lastname: Boot
authors.forename: Bart J A
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Mertens
authors.forename: Jacob
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Geleijns
mesh_terms: D004867:Equipment Design; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted / Q000295:instrumentation*; D008168:Lung / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D019047:Phantoms, Imaging; D011829:Radiation Dosage; D011856:Radiographic Image Enhancement / Q000295:instrumentation*; D013902:Radiography, Thoracic / Q000295:instrumentation*; D012542:Scattering, Radiation; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013673:Technology Assessment, Biomedical