An observer study was conducted to compare the diagnostic quality of human-subject images obtained using a-Se (amorphous selenium) and CsI(Tl) (thalium-doped cesium iodide) flat-panel detectors. Each detector was attached to an X-ray source and gantry equipment of similar configuration and was installed in a university hospital radiology department in X-ray rooms within close proximity. One hundred image pairs that represent a stratified sampling of exam types were acquired. For a particular subject, image pairs were captured of the same body part and projection, using each of the two detectors. The images comprising a pair were captured within a few minutes of each other. Using manual exposure methods, the images were captured with technique factors that correspond to average exposure levels equivalent to approximately a 400-speed screen-film system. Raw image data from both digital radiography systems was stored to a research workstation. To achieve images having the same appearance, the same image-processing software was used to render the data from both systems, although different parameters were used in the frequency processing to account for the different MTF and noise properties of the CsI(Tl) and a-Se detectors. The processed images were evaluated by radiologists who used a research workstation that was equipped with a 3 MP flat-panel monitor, and software to facilitate the image comparisons. Radiologists used subjective rank-order criteria to evaluate overall diagnostic quality and preference. Radiologists' ratings indicate that both detectors produce images that have comparable satisfactory diagnostic quality for images captured using exposure technique factors that correspond to a 400-speed screen-film system, but the CsI(Tl) detector produces significantly higher preference, especially for larger and denser exam types.

Date Published: 6 March 2006
PDF: 12 pages
Proc. SPIE 6142, Medical Imaging 2006: Physics of Medical Imaging, 614231 (6 March 2006); doi: 10.1117/12.653640

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 6142:
Medical Imaging 2006: Physics of Medical Imaging
Michael J. Flynn; Jiang Hsieh, Editor(s)