Radiation dose reduction and improvement of image quality in digital chest radiography by new spatial noise reduction algorithm

作者：Wonje Lee, Seungho Lee, Semin Chong, Kyung‐min Lee, Jongha Lee, Jae Chol Choi, Changwon Lim · 发表于：PLoS ONE · 年份：2020 · DOI：10.1371/journal.pone.0228609 · 被引用次数：16 · 研究领域：Digital Radiography and Breast Imaging、Radiation Dose and Imaging、Advanced X-ray and CT Imaging

PURPOSE: To evaluate the image quality of low-dose chest digital radiographic images obtained with a new spatial noise reduction algorithm, compared to a conventional de-noising technique. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In 69 patients, the dose reduction protocol was divided into A, B, and C test groups- 60% (n = 22), 50% (n = 23), and 40% (n = 24) of the baseline dose. In each patient, baseline dose radiographs were obtained with conventional image processing while low-dose images were acquired with new image processing. A set of baseline and low-dose radiographic images per patient was evaluated and scored on a 5-point scale over seven anatomical landmarks (radiolucency of unobscured lung, pulmonary vascularity, trachea, edge of rib, heart border, intervertebral disc space, and pulmonary vessels in the retrocardiac area) and three representative abnormal findings (nodule, consolidation, and interstitial marking) by two thoracic radiologists. A comparison of paired baseline and low-dose images was statistically analyzed using a non-inferiority test based on the paired t-test or the Wilcoxon signed-rank test. RESULTS: In A, B, and C test groups, the mean dose reduction rate of the baseline radiation dose was 63.4%, 53.9%, and 47.8%, respectively. In all test groups, the upper limit of the 95% confidence interval was less than the non-inferiority margin of 0.5 every seven anatomical landmarks and three representative abnormal findings, which suggested that the image quality of the low...