Summers RM, Selbie WS, Malley JD, Pusanik LM, Dwyer AJ, Courcoutsakis NA,
Shaw DJ, Kleiner DE, Sneller MC, Langford CA, Holland SM, Shelhamer JH
Diagnostic Radiology Department, Warren Grant Magnuson Clinical Center, Bethesda,
MD, USA.
Title
Polypoid lesions of airways: early experience with
computer-assisted detection by using virtual bronchoscopy and
surface curvature.
Source
Radiology 1998 Aug;208(2):331-7
Abstract
PURPOSE: To test the application of a technique developed by the authors for the
computer-assisted diagnosis of polypoid airway lesions from surface rendered virtual
bronchoscopic reconstructions. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A computer algorithm
was developed to detect polypoid airway lesions by means of segmentation of the bronchial
surface with curvature classification. This method was tested with a bronchial phantom,
five cadaveric lung specimens, and virtual bronchoscopic studies in 16 patients. RESULTS:
For the patient studies, the sensitivity and specificity of the method were 47%-88% and
58%-89%, respectively, depending on the value of an adjustable parameter (the mean
curvature threshold). The sensitivity increased (by 20% to 34%) when only lesions larger
than 5 mm in diameter were considered. CONCLUSION: With this method, polypoid
airway lesions can be detected automatically, although false-positive diagnoses present an
important limitation.