Spatial resolution requirements for soft-copy reporting in digital radiography

Andrew G. Davies; Arnold R. Cowen; Richard C. Fowler; Robert F. Bury; Geoff J. S. Parkin; David J. Lintott; Delia Martinez; Asif Safudim

doi:10.1117/12.238461

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15 April 1996 Spatial resolution requirements for soft-copy reporting in digital radiography

Andrew G. Davies, Arnold R. Cowen, Richard C. Fowler, Robert F. Bury, Geoff J. S. Parkin, David J. Lintott, Delia Martinez, Asif Safudim

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Proceedings Volume 2707, Medical Imaging 1996: Image Display; (1996) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.238461
Event: Medical Imaging 1996, 1996, Newport Beach, CA, United States

Abstract

The issue of the spatial resolution required in order to present diagnostic quality digital images, especially for softcopy reporting, has received much attention over recent years. The aim of this study was to compare the diagnostic performance reporting from hardcopy and optimized softcopy image presentations. One-hundred-fifteen radiographs of the hand acquired on a photostimulable phosphor computed radiography (CR) system were chosen as the image material. The study group was taken from patients who demonstrated subtle erosions of the bone in the digits. The control group consisted of radiologically normal bands. The images were presented in three modes, the CR system's hardcopy output, and softcopy presentations at full and half spatial resolutions. Four consultant radiologists participated as observers. Results were analyzed using the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) technique, and showed a statistically significant improvement in observer performance for both softcopy formats, when compared to the hardcopy presentation. However, no significant difference in observer performance was found between the two softcopy presentations. We therefore conclude that, with appropriate attention to the processing and presentation of digital image data, softcopy reporting can, for most examinations, provide superior diagnostic performance, even for images viewed at modest (1 k²) resolutions.

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Andrew G. Davies, Arnold R. Cowen, Richard C. Fowler, Robert F. Bury, Geoff J. S. Parkin, David J. Lintott, Delia Martinez, and Asif Safudim "Spatial resolution requirements for soft-copy reporting in digital radiography", Proc. SPIE 2707, Medical Imaging 1996: Image Display, (15 April 1996); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.238461

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