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Authors |
Robert Lorentsson N. Hosseini J. O. Johansson W. Rosenberg B. Stenborg Lars Gunnar Månsson Magnus Båth |
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Published in | Journal of Applied Clinical Medical Physics |
Volume | 17 |
Issue | 6 |
Pages | 366-378 |
ISSN | 1526-9914 |
Publication year | 2016 |
Published at |
Institute of Clinical Sciences, Department of Radiation Physics |
Pages | 366-378 |
Language | en |
Links |
dx.doi.org/10.1120/jacmp.v17i6.6246 |
Keywords | ultrasound, gray scale, phantom, observation, observer performance, breast tomosynthesis, digital mammography, detail, analysis, visibility, software, scanners, viewdex, masses, Radiology, Nuclear Medicine & Medical Imaging |
Subject categories | Clinical Medicine |
The purpose of the present study was to use a commercially available grayscale phantom to compare two ultrasound systems regarding their ability to reproduce clinically relevant low-contrast objects at different sizes and depths, taking into account human observer variability and other methodological issues related to observer performance studies. One high-end and one general ultrasound scanner from the same manufacturer using the same probe were included. The study was intended to simulate the clinical situation where small low-contrast objects are embedded in relatively homogeneous organs. Images containing 4 and 6.4 mm objects of four different contrasts were acquired from the grayscale phantom at different depths. Six observers participated in a 4-alternative forced-choice study based on 960 images. Case sample and human observer variabilities were taken into account using bootstrapping. At four of sixteen depth/size/contrast combinations, the visual performance of the high-end scanner was significantly higher. Thus, it was possible to use a grayscale phantom to discriminate between the two evaluated ultrasound systems in terms of their ability to reproduce clinically relevant low-contrast objects. However, the number of images and number of observers were larger than those usually used for constancy control.