Lesion detectability in 2D-mammography and digital breast tomosynthesis using different targets and observers.

Lesion detectability in 2D-mammography and digital breast tomosynthesis using different targets and observers. Phys Med Biol. 2018 Apr 11;: Authors: Elangovan P, Mackenzie A, Dance DR, Young KC, Wells K Abstract This work investigates the detection performance of specialist and non-specialist observers for different targets in 2D-mammography and digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) using the OPTIMAM Virtual Clinical Trials (VCT) Toolbox and a 4-alternative forced choice (4AFC) assessment paradigm.
 
 Using 2D-mammography and DBT images of virtual breast phantoms, we compare the detection limits of simple uniform spherical targets and irregular solid masses. Target diameters of 4mm and 6mm have been chosen to represent target sizes close to the minimum detectable size found in breast screening, across a range of controlled contrast levels. The images were viewed by a set of specialist observers (five medical physicists and six experienced clinical readers) and five non-specialists.
 
 Combined results from both observer groups indicate that DBT has a significantly lower detectable threshold contrast than 2D-mammography for small masses (4mm: 2.1% [DBT] vs 6.9% [2D]]; 6mm: 0.7% [DBT] vs 3.9% [2D]) and spheres (4mm: 2.9% [DBT] vs 5.3% [2D]; 6mm: 0.3% [DBT] vs 2.2% [2D]) (p<0.0001). Both observer groups found spheres significantly easier to detect than irregular solid masses for both sizes and modalit...
Source: Physics in Medicine and Biology - Category: Physics Authors: Tags: Phys Med Biol Source Type: research