Department of Radiation Physics, Institute of Clinical Sciences, The Sahlgrenska Academy at University of Gothenburg, SE-413 45 Gothenburg, Sweden.
Department of Radiology, Institute of Clinical Sciences, The Sahlgrenska Academy at University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden; Department of Radiology, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Gothenburg, Sweden.
Acad Radiol. 2019 Apr;26(4):508-518. doi: 10.1016/j.acra.2018.05.004. Epub 2018 Jun 19.
Chest tomosynthesis has been suggested as a suitable alternative to CT for follow-up of pulmonary nodules. The aim of the present study was to investigate the possibility of detecting pulmonary nodule growth using chest tomosynthesis.
Simulated nodules with volumes of approximately 100 mm and 300 mm as well as additional versions with increasing volumes were created. The nodules were inserted into images from pairs of chest tomosynthesis examinations, simulating cases where the nodule had either remained stable in size or increased in size between the two imaging occasions. Nodule volume growths ranging from 11% to 252% were included. A simulated dose reduction was applied to a subset of the cases. Cases differing in terms of nodule size, dose level, and nodule position relative to the plane of image reconstruction were included. Observers rated their confidence that the nodules were stable in size or not. The rating data for the nodules that were stable in size was compared to the rating data for the nodules simulated to have increased in size using ROC analysis.
Area under the curve values ranging from 0.65 to 1 were found. The lowest area under the curve values were found when there was a mismatch in nodule position relative to the reconstructed image plane between the two examinations. Nodule size and dose level affected the results.
The study indicates that chest tomosynthesis can be used to detect pulmonary nodule growth. Nodule size, dose level, and mismatch in position relative to the image reconstruction plane in the baseline and follow-up examination may affect the precision.
胸部断层合成已被提议作为 CT 随访肺结节的合适替代方法。本研究的目的是研究使用胸部断层合成检测肺结节生长的可能性。
创建了体积约为 100mm 和 300mm 的模拟结节以及体积增加的其他版本。将结节插入来自胸部断层合成检查对的图像中，模拟结节在两次成像之间保持大小稳定或增加的情况。包括体积增长率为 11%至 252%的结节。对部分病例进行了模拟剂量降低。包括结节大小、剂量水平以及结节相对于图像重建平面的位置不同的病例。观察者对他们认为结节大小稳定或不稳定的信心进行评分。使用 ROC 分析比较了大小稳定的结节的评分数据和模拟大小增加的结节的评分数据。
发现曲线下面积值从 0.65 到 1 不等。当两次检查中结节相对于重建图像平面的位置不匹配时，曲线下面积值最低。结节大小和剂量水平影响结果。
该研究表明，胸部断层合成可用于检测肺结节生长。结节大小、剂量水平以及基线和随访检查中相对于图像重建平面的位置不匹配可能会影响精度。
