MDCT and CAD Detects Lung Nodules
An article published in the American Journal of Roentgenology describes study findings completed by a Parisian team which indicates the combination of computer-aided detection (CAD) and multidetector CT (MDCT) increases the ability of radiologists to detect lung nodules at an early stage.
The goal of the study was to assess the amount of time required to complete evaluation of lung scans from MDCT with the addition of CAD, determining if this method increased efficiency. An additional endpoint was whether the combined tools increase the rate of nodule detection, especially those that can be treated.
54 pairs of chest screening studies were completed using low-dose MDCT. Two radiologists evaluated the studies on a CAD workstation, first without CAD assistance and then with CAD input. A subset of the exams, 33 in total, were reviewed on the clinical workstation used in daily practice. This data was used to compare efficiency in reading scans using the CAD versus the standard workstation.
The research team compared detection of solid lung nodules > 4mm on pair of MDCT scans. 52 lung nodules were detected in that size range on 25 of the studies.
After integrating the CAD input, the rate of detecting nodules increased for both the radiologists reviewing the scans; from 9.6 percent to 23 percent. One cancer that was missed by one radiologist during the first review was captured after the addition of CAD input. The readers spent four to five minutes reading the paired scans and six to eight seconds to read each CAD mark.
The CAD detection system successfully matched 91.3 percent of nodules that had been identified. The overall rate of available CAD growth assessment was 54.9 percent of all the paired nodules noted.
The team concluded that integration of CAD significantly improved the sensitivity in detection of lung nodules greater than 4mm. CAD input did not increase the amount of time to review the studies. The team commented that CAD systems serve as almost a second reader, aiding the primary radiologist in reading studies.
November 13, 2007 Related topics: Pulmonary, Product Recalls, Imaging, Diagnostic, Radiology