Clinical evaluation of new workflow-efficient image processing for digital radiography

An observer study was conducted on a randomly selected sampling of 152 digital projection radiographs of varying body parts obtained from four medical institutions for the purpose of assessing a new workflow-efficient image-processing framework. Five rendering treatments were compared to measure the performance of a new processing algorithm against the control condition. A key feature of the new image processing is the capability of processing without specifying the exam. Randomized image pairs were presented at a softcopy workstation equipped with two diagnostic-quality flat-panel monitors. Five board-certified radiologists and one radiology resident independently reviewed each image pair blinded to the specific processing used and provided a diagnostic-quality rating using a subjective rank-order scale for each image. In addition, a relative preference rating was used to indicate rendering preference. Aggregate results indicate that the new fully automated processing is preferred (sign test for median = 0 (a = 0.05): p < 0.0001 preference in favor of the control).