title: Multicenter study of quantitative computed tomography analysis using a computer-aided three-dimensional system in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the feasibility of automated quantitative analysis with a three-dimensional (3D) computer-aided system (i.e., Gaussian histogram normalized correlation, GHNC) of computed tomography (CT) images from different scanners.
  
  
  METHODS
  Each institution's review board approved the research protocol. Informed patient consent was not required. The participants in this multicenter prospective study were 80 patients (65 men, 15 women) with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. Their mean age was 70.6 years. Computed tomography (CT) images were obtained by four different scanners set at different exposures. We measured the extent of fibrosis using GHNC, and used Pearson's correlation analysis, Bland-Altman plots, and kappa analysis to directly compare the GHNC results with manual scoring by radiologists. Multiple linear regression analysis was performed to determine the association between the CT data and forced vital capacity (FVC).
  
  
  RESULTS
  For each scanner, the extent of fibrosis as determined by GHNC was significantly correlated with the radiologists' score. In multivariate analysis, the extent of fibrosis as determined by GHNC was significantly correlated with FVC (p < 0.001). There was no significant difference between the results obtained using different CT scanners.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Gaussian histogram normalized correlation was feasible, irrespective of the type of CT scanner used.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Kanagawa Cardiovascular and Respiratory Center, 6-16-1, Tomioka-higashi, Kanazawa-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa, 236-8651, Japan. tae_i_md@wb3.so-net.ne.jp.
authors.forename: Tae
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Iwasawa
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Saitama Cardiovascular and Respiratory Center, Saitama, Japan.
authors.forename: Tetsu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kanauchi
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Saitama Cardiovascular and Respiratory Center, Saitama, Japan.|Department of Radiology, Saitama Jikei Hospital, Saitama, Japan.
authors.forename: Toshiko
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hoshi
authors.affiliation: Department of Respiratory Medicine, Kanagawa Cardiovascular and Respiratory Center, Kanagawa, Japan.
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ogura
authors.affiliation: Department of Respiratory Medicine, Kanagawa Cardiovascular and Respiratory Center, Kanagawa, Japan.
authors.forename: Tomohisa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Baba
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Environment and Information Sciences, Yokohama National University, Yokohama, Japan.
authors.forename: Toshiyuki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Gotoh
authors.affiliation: Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, School of Medicine, Yokohama City University, Yokohama, Japan.
authors.forename: Mari S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Oba
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D054990:Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional / Q000379:methods*; D008168:Lung / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000379:methods*
keywords: Computer-aided design; Lung; Lung disease; Multidetector computed tomography; Pulmonary fibrosis