Chest CT: Automated nodule detection and assessment of change over time - Preliminary experience

The authors developed a computer system that automatically identifies nodul es at chest computed tomography, quantifies their diameter, and assesses fo r change in size at follow up. The automated nodule detection system identi fied 318 (86%) of 370 nodules in 16 studies (eight initial and eight follow -up studies) obtained in eight oncology patients with known nodules. Assess ment of change in nodule size by the computer matched that by the thoracic radiologist (Spearman rank correlation coefficient, 0.932).