title: Usefulness of the CAD system for detecting pulmonary nodule in real clinical practice.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  We wanted to evaluate the usefulness of the computer-aided detection (CAD) system for detecting pulmonary nodules in real clinical practice by using the CT images.
  
  
  METHODS
  Our Institutional Review Board approved our retrospective study with a waiver of informed consent. This study included 166 CT examinations that were performed for the evaluation of pulmonary metastasis in 166 patients with colorectal cancer. All the CT examinations were interpreted by radiologists and they were also evaluated by the CAD system. All the nodules detected by the CAD system were evaluated with regard to whether or not they were true nodules, and they were classified into micronodules (MN, diameter < 4 mm) and significant nodules (SN, 4 ≤ diameter ≤ 10 mm). The radiologic reports and CAD results were compared.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The CAD system helped detect 426 nodules; 115 (27%) of the 426 nodules were classified as true nodules and 35 (30%) of the 115 nodules were SNs, and 83 (72%) of the 115 were not mentioned in the radiologists' reports and three (4%) of the 83 nodules were non-calcified SNs. One of three non-calcified SNs was confirmed as a metastatic nodule. According to the radiologists' reports, 60 true nodules were detected, and 28 of the 60 were not detected by the CAD system.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Although the CAD system missed many SNs that are detected by radiologists, it helps detect additional nodules that are missed by the radiologists in real clinical practice. Therefore, the CAD system can be useful to support a radiologist's detection performance.
authors: Department of Radiology and Center for Imaging Science, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul 135-710, Korea.
authors: Kyoung Doo
authors: KD
authors: Song
authors: Myung Jin
authors: MJ
authors: Chung
authors: Hee Cheol
authors: HC
authors: Kim
authors: Sun Young
authors: SY
authors: Jeong
authors: Kyung Soo
authors: KS
authors: Lee
mesh_terms: D015179:Colorectal Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*; D003936:Diagnosis, Computer-Assisted; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000556:secondary; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D003074:Solitary Pulmonary Nodule / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000556:secondary; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed