Exploration of Stereo Display for Lung Cancer Screening

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The efficacy of helical CT for lung cancer screening is currently being evaluated, and it is likely that some form of such screening will become commonplace in the future. But, because of the large potential screening population combined with the rather tedious and time-consuming effort required to read these studies, its adoption will result in a considerable increase in the workload of chest radiographers. We have been investigating the feasibility of using stereoscopic display methods to increase radiologists' efficiency and performance in reading the large volumes of data generated in 3D imaging studies. The stereo display of a stack of thin CT slices has the potential to clarify three-dimensional structures, while avoiding ambiguities due to tissue superposition, commonly associated with thicker slices. Also, it is known that certain kinds of objects can be detected in a stereo display, which enhances features that are correlated between slices, but these objects cannot be detected when viewed in a slice-by-slice manner. Chest CT is uniquely suited to stereo display methods because, by rendering air transparent, lung nodules can be largely isolated from adjacent tissues. The objective of this project is to develop and evaluate methods for displaying lung cancer screening data, acquired by helical CT, on stereoscopic displays. The display will consist of a CRT used in conjunction with shutter glasses, and will include a customized projection algorithm incorporating a geometric model and a contrast-transparency model tailored to the specific requirements of chest CT. Once the display is operational, a retrospective study will be performed to measure relative accuracy and efficiency, for detection and classification of lung lesions, between three display modes, including stereoscopic 3D, thick-slice MEP, and slice-by-slice. We expect to demonstrate that the use of a stereo display for lung cancer screening will result in improved accuracy and efficiency, and this could greatly increase the efficacy of this screening process.