title: Computer-aided diagnosis in thoracic CT.
abstract: Computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) provides a computerized diagnostic result as a "second opinion" to assist radiologists in the diagnosis of various diseases by use of medical images. CAD has become a practical clinical approach in diagnostic radiology, although, at present, primarily in the area of detection of breast cancer in mammograms. Currently, a large research effort has been devoted to the detection and classification of various lung diseases in thoracic computed tomography (CT) images. We describe in this article the current status of the development of CAD schemes in thoracic CT, including nodule detection, distinction between benign and malignant nodules, and detection, characterization, and differential diagnosis of diffuse lung disease. Observer performance studies indicate that these CAD schemes would be useful in clinical practice by providing radiologists with computer output as a "second opinion."
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, The University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637, USA. qiangli@uchicago.edu
authors.forename: Qiang
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Feng
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Kenji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Suzuki
authors.forename: Junji
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Shiraishi
authors.forename: Hiroyuki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Abe
authors.forename: Roger
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Engelmann
authors.forename: Yongkang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Nie
authors.forename: Heber
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: MacMahon
authors.forename: Kunio
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Doi
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D017563:Lung Diseases, Interstitial / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology; D011857:Radiographic Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted; D013902:Radiography, Thoracic; D003074:Solitary Pulmonary Nodule / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed