Evaluation of the 95% limits of agreement of the volumes of 5-year clinically stable solid nodules for the development of a follow-up system for indeterminate solid nodules in CT lung cancer screening.

BACKGROUND: This study sought to evaluate the 95% limits of agreement of the volumes of 5-year clinically stable solid nodules for the development of a follow-up system for indeterminate solid nodules. METHODS: The volumes of 226 solid nodules that had been clinically stable for 5 years were measured in 186 patients (53 female never-smokers, 36 male never-smokers, 51 males with <30 pack-years, and 46 males with ≥30 pack-years) using a three-dimensional semiautomated method. Volume changes were evaluated using three methods: percent change, proportional change and growth rate. The 95% limits of agreement were evaluated using the Bland-Altman method. RESULTS: The 95% limits of agreement were as follows: range of percent change, from ±34.5% to ±37.8%; range of proportional change, from ±34.1% to ±36.8%; and range of growth rate, from ±39.2% to ±47.4%. Percent change-based, proportional change-based, and growth rate-based diagnoses of an increase or decrease in ten solid nodules were made at a mean of 302±402, 367±455, and 329±496 days, respectively, compared with a clinical diagnosis made at 809±616 days (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The 95% limits of agreement for volume change in 5-year stable solid nodules may enable the detection of an increase or decrease in the solid nodule at an earlier stage than that enabled by a clinical diagnosis, possibly contributing to the development of a follow-up system for reducing the number of additional Computed tomography (CT) scans performed during the follow-up period.

Ultra-High-Resolution Computed Tomography of the Lung: Image Quality of a Prototype Scanner.

PURPOSE: The image noise and image quality of a prototype ultra-high-resolution computed tomography (U-HRCT) scanner was evaluated and compared with those of conventional high-resolution CT (C-HRCT) scanners. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study was approved by the institutional review board. A U-HRCT scanner prototype with 0.25 mm x 4 rows and operating at 120 mAs was used. The C-HRCT images were obtained using a 0.5 mm x 16 or 0.5 mm x 64 detector-row CT scanner operating at 150 mAs. Images from both scanners were reconstructed at 0.1-mm intervals; the slice thickness was 0.25 mm for the U-HRCT scanner and 0.5 mm for the C-HRCT scanners. For both scanners, the display field of view was 80 mm. The image noise of each scanner was evaluated using a phantom. U-HRCT and C-HRCT images of 53 images selected from 37 lung nodules were then observed and graded using a 5-point score by 10 board-certified thoracic radiologists. The images were presented to the observers randomly and in a blinded manner. RESULTS: The image noise for U-HRCT (100.87 ± 0.51 Hounsfield units [HU]) was greater than that for C-HRCT (40.41 ± 0.52 HU; P < .0001). The image quality of U-HRCT was graded as superior to that of C-HRCT (P < .0001) for all of the following parameters that were examined: margins of subsolid and solid nodules, edges of solid components and pulmonary vessels in subsolid nodules, air bronchograms, pleural indentations, margins of pulmonary vessels, edges of bronchi, and interlobar fissures. CONCLUSION: Despite a larger image noise, the prototype U-HRCT scanner had a significantly better image quality than the C-HRCT scanners.

Low-dose CT screening for lung cancer with automatic exposure control: phantom study.

We conducted a study to determine optimal scan conditions for automatic exposure control (AEC) in computed tomography (CT) of low-dose chest screening in order to provide consistent image quality without increasing the collective dose. Using a chest CT phantom, we set CT-AEC scan conditions with a dose-reduction wedge (DR-Wedge) to the same radiation dose as those for low-tube current, fixed-scan conditions. Image quality was evaluated with the use of the standard deviation of the CT number, contrast-noise ratios (CNR), and receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. At the same radiation dose, in the scan conditions using CT-AEC with the DR-Wedge, the SD of the CT number of each slice position was stable. The CNR values were higher at the lung apex and lung base under CT-AEC with the DR-Wedge than under standard scan conditions (p < 0.0002). In addition, ROC analysis of blind evaluation by four radiologists and three technologists showed that the image quality was improved for the lung apex (p < 0.009), tracheal bifurcation (p < 0.038), and lung base (p < 0.022) in the scan conditions using CT-AEC with the DR-Wedge. We achieved improvement of image quality without increasing the collective dose by using CT-AEC with the DR-Wedge under low-dose scan conditions.

[Screening for lung cancer by low-dose computed tomography].

The primary screening method for lung cancer in Japan is the chest x-ray, although it is not the accepted international standard because its accuracy is lower than that of procedures used to detect other types of cancer. Since the incidence and mortality rate of lung cancer are higher than in many other cancers, more effective screening modalities need to be developed. Lung cancer screening was improved about ten years ago through the introduction of computed tomography (CT) scanning techniques. CT provides a higher level of accuracy in detecting early lung cancers and there have been reports of improvement in the five-year survival rate, although its effect on decreasing the mortality rate has not been demonstrated as yet. There are two significant disadvantages, however, associated with using CT for the detection of lung cancer. First, CT scanning results in a considerably higher level of radiation exposure than chest x-ray. Secondly, CT scanning is so sensitive that it can reveal shadows unrelated to lung cancer, resulting in additional, but unnecessary CT scans being performed for further examination. Accordingly, this report reviews the basic points that should be considered when conducting CT scanning for lung cancer screening purposes.