A comparison of computer asisted tomography (EMI scanner) with conventional neuroradiologic methods in the investigation of patients clinically suspected of intracranial tumor.

Computerized tomography has been used as the initial radiologic investigation among 212 intracranial tumor suspects. Ninety-five of these patients were ultimately shown to have tumors as a result of all their investigations. Eighty tumors were clearly defined by EMI scanning, four further scans were suspicious but not unequivocally abnormal and six scans showed complications of the tumor rather than the lesion itself. Thus, only five scans were falsely negative in the presence of a tumor. The false positive and false negative rates for EMI scanning have been compared with conventional techniques and computerized tomography shown to compare favourably with angiography or encephalography.