Algorithm Variability in the Estimation of Lung Nodule Volume From Phantom CT Scans: Results of the QIBA 3A Public Challenge.

RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES: Quantifying changes in lung tumor volume is important for diagnosis, therapy planning, and evaluation of response to therapy. The aim of this study was to assess the performance of multiple algorithms on a reference data set. The study was organized by the Quantitative Imaging Biomarker Alliance (QIBA). MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study was organized as a public challenge. Computed tomography scans of synthetic lung tumors in an anthropomorphic phantom were acquired by the Food and Drug Administration. Tumors varied in size, shape, and radiodensity. Participants applied their own semi-automated volume estimation algorithms that either did not allow or allowed post-segmentation correction (type 1 or 2, respectively). Statistical analysis of accuracy (percent bias) and precision (repeatability and reproducibility) was conducted across algorithms, as well as across nodule characteristics, slice thickness, and algorithm type. RESULTS: Eighty-four percent of volume measurements of QIBA-compliant tumors were within 15% of the true volume, ranging from 66% to 93% across algorithms, compared to 61% of volume measurements for all tumors (ranging from 37% to 84%). Algorithm type did not affect bias substantially; however, it was an important factor in measurement precision. Algorithm precision was notably better as tumor size increased, worse for irregularly shaped tumors, and on the average better for type 1 algorithms. Over all nodules meeting the QIBA Profile, precision, as measured by the repeatability coefficient, was 9.0% compared to 18.4% overall. CONCLUSION: The results achieved in this study, using a heterogeneous set of measurement algorithms, support QIBA quantitative performance claims in terms of volume measurement repeatability for nodules meeting the QIBA Profile criteria.

Image quality improvement using an image-based noise reduction algorithm: initial experience in a phantom model for urinary stones.

OBJECTIVE: To determine signal-to-noise (SNR), contrast-to-noise ratio, and segmentation error measurements in various low-dose computed tomographic (CT) acquisitions of an anthropomorphic phantom containing urinary stones before and after implementation of a structure-preserving diffusion (SPD) denoising algorithm, and to compare the measurements with those of standard-dose CT acquisitions. METHODS: After institutional review board approval, written informed consent was waived and 36 calcium oxalate stones were evaluated after CT acquisitions in an anthropomorphic phantom at variable tube currents (33-137 mA s). The SPD denoising algorithm was applied to all images. Signal-to-noise ratio, contrast-to-noise ratio, and expected segmentation error were determined using manually drawn regions of interest to quantify the effect of the noise reduction on the image quality. RESULTS: The value of segmentation error measurements using the SPD denoising algorithm obtained at tube currents as low as 33 mA s (up to 75% dose reduction level) were similar to standard imaging at 137 mA s. The denoised images at reduced doses up to 75% dose reduction have higher SNR than the standard-dose images without denoising (P < 0.005). Stepwise regression showed significant (P < 0.001) effect of dose length product on SNR, and segmentation error measurements. CONCLUSIONS: Based on objective noise-related image quality metrics, the SPD denoising algorithm may be useful as a robust and fast tool, and it has the potential to improve image quality in low-dose CT ureter protocols.