Selenium-based digital radiography versus high-resolution storage phosphor radiography in the detection of solitary pulmonary nodules without calcification: Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis

OBJECTIVE. The purpose of this study was to compare selenium-based digital radiography with high-resolution storage phosphor radiography for the detection of solitary pulmonary nodules without calcification. MATERIALS AND METHODS. One hundred twenty-four patients underwent selenium-based digital radiography, high-resolution storage phosphor radiography, and chest CT for evaluation of pulmonary nodules. Thirty-one patients with pulmonary nodules smaller than 3 cm in diameter and 40 patients with normal lungs were selected for receiver operating characteristic curve analysis. Five board-certified radiologists who were unaware of the CT results independently reviewed each of the hard copies of selenium-based digital radiography and storage phosphor radiography, identified pulmonary nodules, and graded their confidence for the presence of each nodule. For each radiologist, we calculated the areas under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) for selenium-based digital radiography and storage phosphor radiography. RESULTS. The average performance of selenium-based digital radiography (AUC = 0.72) was higher than that of high-resolution storage phosphor radiography (AUC = 0.64), which is statistically significant (p <0.05). CONCLUSION. Our results indicate that selenium-based digital radiography is superior to high-resolution storage phosphor radiography for detecting solitary pulmonary nodules without calcification.