DIGITAL RADIOGRAPHY AND CONVENTIONAL IMAGING OF THE CHEST - A COMPARISON OF OBSERVER PERFORMANCE

OBJECTIVE. The purpose of this study was to compare observer performan ce in interpreting high-quality, digitally acquired computed radiograp hs of the chest displayed on either laser-printed radiographs or a wor kstation with observer performance in interpreting conventional chest radiographs. SUBJECTS AND METHODS. We performed a receiver-operating-c haracteristic study in which the presence or absence of five abnormali ties was determined by nine experienced radiologists on 310 posteroant erior radiographs of the chest displayed in three forms: conventional radiographs, laser-printed films of digital radiographs, and digital r adiographs on a high-resolution workstation. RESULTS. The results of o ur study suggest that observer performance with laser-printed films of digital radiographs obtained with high-resolution (4K x 5K), high-con trast sensitivity (12 bits) and appropriate exposure is comparable to observer performance with conventional radiographs. Observer performan ce with digital radiographs displayed on the workstation was found to be significantly lower for abnormalities that contained high-frequency and low-contrast information (e.g., interstitial disease and pneumoth orax). CONCLUSION. Computed radiography technology can produce image q uality that is adequate for interpreting posteroanterior radiographs o f the chest. Observer performance is not as good when radiographs disp layed on workstations are used to diagnose specific abnormalities.