Effects of quantum noise and binocular summation on dose requirements in stereoradiography

Summary, in English

In the case of a quantum-noise limited detector, signal detection theory suggests that stereoradiographic images can be acquired with one half of the per-image dose needed for a standard radiographic projection, as information from the two stereo images can be combined. Previously, film-screen stereoradiography has been performed using the same per-image dose as in projection radiography, i.e., doubling the total dose. In this paper, the assumption of a possible decrease in dose for stereoradiography was tested by a series of contrast-detail experiments, using phantom images acquired over a range of exposures. The number of visible details, the effective reduction of the dose, and the effective decrease in the threshold signal-to-noise ratio were determined using human observers under several display and viewing conditions. These results were averaged over five observers and compared with multiple readings by a single observer and with the results of an additional observer with limited stereoscopic acuity. Experimental results show that the total dose needed to produce a stereoradiographic image pair is approximately 1.1 times the dose needed for a single projection in standard radiography, indicating that under these conditions the human visual system demonstrates almost ideal binocular summation.

• Author: Andrew D.A. Maidment; Predrag R. Bakic; Michael Albert
• Publishing year: 2003-12
• Language: English
• Pages: 3061-3071
• Publication/Series: Medical Physics
• Volume: 30
• Issue: 12
• Links: http://dx.doi.org/10.1118/1.1621869
• Document type: Journal article
• Publisher: American Association of Physicists in Medicine
• Topic: Medical Image Processing
• Keywords: Digital radiography; Dose; Human perception; Observer study; Stereoradiographic technique
• Status: Published
• ISBN/ISSN/Other: ISSN: 0094-2405