The Role of Computer-Aided Detection in Diagnostic Medical Imaging
The Role of Computer-Aided Detection in Diagnostic Medical Imaging
Innovation and Imaging
Methods of improving the acquisition, display and interpretation of diagnostic medical images have been in a constant state of innovation since the discovery of x-ray in eighteen ninety-five (1895). The biggest changes have occurred along with and largely because of incredible advancements in computer technology. Medical imaging developers have harnessed computer technologies to perform tasks that have helped shape the typical diagnostic imaging department into an indispensable part of the diagnostic team.
Computerized Tomography
As computer power and speed has increased so has its utility in diagnostic imaging. As an example, look at the evolution of Computerized Tomography (CT) technology from its inception in the early nineteen seventies (1970’s) to its present day incarnation. The acquisition time for a single slice on a typical first generation CT scanner was approximately four hundred and twenty seconds. Scanners of today can easily cover an area from the apex of the lungs to the tip of the toes in about twenty-five seconds. To clarify how dramatic this rapid change in CT technology is, let us compare it to advances in aviation. From the Wright brothers flight at Kitty Hawk to the flight of a modern space shuttle, there has been a speed increase from forty miles per hour to twenty-five thousand miles per hour. This change represents a six hundred and twenty-five times increase in speed. In comparison, CT speed gains represent nearly a one thousand times increase (Beason, 2005, October 5).
Computerized Diagnosis
The first computerized image analysis and interpretation system was conceived in the nineteen sixties (1960’s) in an attempt at complete automation of the radiographic exam. “These early studies displayed a considerable optimism regarding the capabilities of computers to generate complete diagnoses” (van Ginneken, 2001, p.1228). The high
Innovation and Imaging
Methods of improving the acquisition, display and interpretation of diagnostic medical images have been in a constant state of innovation since the discovery of x-ray in eighteen ninety-five (1895). The biggest changes have occurred along with and largely because of incredible advancements in computer technology. Medical imaging developers have harnessed computer technologies to perform tasks that have helped shape the typical diagnostic imaging department into an indispensable part of the diagnostic team.
Computerized Tomography
As computer power and speed has increased so has its utility in diagnostic imaging. As an example, look at the evolution of Computerized Tomography (CT) technology from its inception in the early nineteen seventies (1970’s) to its present day incarnation. The acquisition time for a single slice on a typical first generation CT scanner was approximately four hundred and twenty seconds. Scanners of today can easily cover an area from the apex of the lungs to the tip of the toes in about twenty-five seconds. To clarify how dramatic this rapid change in CT technology is, let us compare it to advances in aviation. From the Wright brothers flight at Kitty Hawk to the flight of a modern space shuttle, there has been a speed increase from forty miles per hour to twenty-five thousand miles per hour. This change represents a six hundred and twenty-five times increase in speed. In comparison, CT speed gains represent nearly a one thousand times increase (Beason, 2005, October 5).
Computerized Diagnosis
The first computerized image analysis and interpretation system was conceived in the nineteen sixties (1960’s) in an attempt at complete automation of the radiographic exam. “These early studies displayed a considerable optimism regarding the capabilities of computers to generate complete diagnoses” (van Ginneken, 2001, p.1228). The high
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