Dear Advanced Visualization Insider,
Manual quantification of stenosis is time-consuming and suffers from interreader variability. Automated quantification using software tools could reliably handle this task, however.
That's the conclusion of a pair of recent studies by German researchers, who found improvements in interreader variability with the software-based approach. Get the details in this month's Insider Exclusive, which you can access before our other members by clicking here.
In other Advanced Visualization Digital Community news, breast computer-aided detection (CAD) software has been a hot topic this summer. In late July, a study was published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute; its results suggest that mammography CAD was associated with lower specificity and positive predictive values. In addition, sensitivity for invasive breast cancers was similar whether or not CAD was used.
The study was led by Dr. Joshua Fenton from the University of California, Davis, who many CAD proponents may remember from his 2007 paper in the New England Journal of Medicine that also reported disappointing results from the technology. Associate editor Kate Madden Yee has our coverage of his latest paper, which you can review here.
As you might expect, a number of breast CAD specialists had a few things to say about Fenton's most recent study. Kate also has our follow-up, which you can find here.
A session at the 2011 Computer Assisted Radiology and Surgery (CARS) congress in Berlin also addressed the methodology of many breast CAD research studies. Click here for our coverage from international editor Eric Barnes.
In virtual colonoscopy developments, Boston researchers have found that a software tool that reduces noise in ultralow-dose VC exams can pave the way for the use of CAD in these studies.
Do you have any interesting images or clips that might be suitable for our AV Gallery? I invite you to submit them by clicking here.
