Influence of monochrome LCDs with different resolutions for the detection performance of pulmonary micro-nodule / 中国医学影像技术

ABSTRACT

Objective To assess the influence of medical monochrome liquid crystal displays (LCD) with different resolutions for the detection performance of micro-nodules (diameter <10 mm) on chest radiograms. Methods Eighty-seven DR chest images that were verified with CT were selected from PACS on-line, including 32 positive images, 32 suspected images and 23 normal images. The diameters of all nodules were lower than 10 mm. Three of high-, mid- and low-experienced radiologists who participated in the ROC study interpreted these 87 images using three types of LCDs with different resolutions, respectively. Regarding the presence of nodule, five-point confidence level rating scale was used, i.e. definitely absent, probably absent, possibly present, probably present and definitely present. All observers marked their confidence levels of every image according to the presence of pulmonary nodule on different displays. Software SPSS 13.0 was used for statistical analysis. Results AUC increased with the increasing resolutions and radiologists' experiences in 2MP, 3MP, 5MP displays. For the detection performance of pulmonary nodules (diameter <10 mm), there was no significant difference among different types of displays or different aptitudes of radiologists. Conclusion It's equivalent for the detection performance of pulmonary nodule (diameter <10 mm) on 2MP, 3MP and 5MP medical monochrome LCD when no restriction on the use of image post-processing tools. Highly-experienced radiologist can get the most information when using 5MP display. It is advisable to combine the diagnostic workstation system with high-, mid- and low-resolution monitors, and reasonable equipment scheme between different types of displays and different aptitudes of radiologists could result in better cost-efficacy.