Application of CT-PSF-based computer-simulated lung nodules for evaluating the accuracy of computer-aided volumetry

With the wide dissemination of computed tomography (CT) screening for lung cancer, measuring the nodule volume accurately with computer-aided volumetry software is increasingly important. Many studies for determining the accuracy of volumetry software have been performed using a phantom with artific...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Radiological physics and technology 2012-07, Vol.5 (2), p.166-171
Main Authors: Funaki, Ayumu, Ohkubo, Masaki, Wada, Shinichi, Murao, Kohei, Matsumoto, Toru, Niizuma, Shinji
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Computer Simulation
Image Processing, Computer-Assisted - methods
Imaging
Lung Neoplasms - diagnostic imaging
Lung Neoplasms - pathology
Medical and Radiation Physics
Medicine
Medicine & Public Health
Nuclear Medicine
Phantoms, Imaging
Radiology
Radiotherapy
Sensitivity and Specificity
Software
Tomography, X-Ray Computed - methods
Tumor Burden
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Summary:With the wide dissemination of computed tomography (CT) screening for lung cancer, measuring the nodule volume accurately with computer-aided volumetry software is increasingly important. Many studies for determining the accuracy of volumetry software have been performed using a phantom with artificial nodules. These phantom studies are limited, however, in their ability to reproduce the nodules both accurately and in the variety of sizes and densities required. Therefore, we propose a new approach of using computer-simulated nodules based on the point spread function measured in a CT system. The validity of the proposed method was confirmed by the excellent agreement obtained between computer-simulated nodules and phantom nodules regarding the volume measurements. A practical clinical evaluation of the accuracy of volumetry software was achieved by adding simulated nodules onto clinical lung images, including noise and artifacts. The tested volumetry software was revealed to be accurate within an error of 20 % for nodules >5 mm and with the difference between nodule density and background (lung) (CT value) being 400–600 HU. Such a detailed analysis can provide clinically useful information on the use of volumetry software in CT screening for lung cancer. We concluded that the proposed method is effective for evaluating the performance of computer-aided volumetry software.
ISSN:1865-0333
1865-0341
DOI:10.1007/s12194-012-0150-9