Phantom gastric mucosa for evaluating computed radiography in double-contrast upper gastrointestinal examinations

Purpose: To rest the clinical usefulness of computed radiography (CR) with a storage phosphor plate in upper gastrointestinal radiographic examinations, a newly devised phantom gastric mucosa was used. Material and Methods. Simulated small elevated and depressed lesions were created on a phantom gastric mucosa made from a styrofoam ''plate''. Twenty-four sets of each CR and screen-film radiographs (SR) were obtained using phototimed exposures. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) study and visual ranking using these images were performed. Results. There was no significant difference between the ROC curves of CR and SR. By visual ranking, CR was equal to or better than SR in most cases. In no case was SR definitely superior to CR. Conclusion: CR can be safely applied in upper gastrointestinal roentgenologic examinations.