Using CAD As A Surrogate Reader In Observer Studies

描述（由申请人提供）： 在医学成像中的许多研究的目标是改进由放射科医师作出的诊断。这意味着新技术和新的成像系统必须证明它们可以提高放射科医生做出准确诊断的能力。观察者研究是有用的，因为它提供了技术临床有效性的证据。然而，观察员研究很难进行，因为它们很耗时，而且进行起来很昂贵。 我们提出了一种新的方法，使用计算机辅助诊断（CAD）计划，以取代人类观察员。也就是说，我们相信我们可以修改CAD方案，以便至少在某些任务中，它们可以像人类观察员一样执行。通过这种方式，可以使用计算机而不是一组放射科医生来执行观察员研究，从而节省时间，金钱和精力。 该项目的目标是使用不同的训练条件来创建一组用于乳房X线照片上乳房钙化表征的CAD方案。然后选择其中的一个子集，以创建一组与一组放射科医生具有相似性能的CAD观察员。具体目标是： 1.收集数据库并进行观察员研究; 2.开发CAD观察者的超集; 3.选择一组CAD观察员以匹配放射科医生;以及 4.马达加斯加观察员。 如果我们成功了，医学成像领域的许多新发展可以更准确、更容易、更快速地进行测试，从而节省数月的时间和开发成本。这将减少新技术或技术获得临床认可所需的成本和时间。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The goal of much research in medical imaging is to improve the diagnosis made by a radiologist. This means that new techniques and new imaging systems that are developed must prove that they can improve radiologists' ability to render an accurate diagnosis. Observer studies are useful because provide evidence as to the clinical effectiveness of a technique. However, observer studies are difficult to perform, because they are time consuming, and they are expensive to conduct. We are proposing a novel approach of using a computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) scheme to replace the human observer. That is, we believe that we can modify CAD schemes so that, at least for some tasks, they can perform like human observers. In this way, observer studies can be performed using a computer instead of a group of radiologists, saving time, money, and effort. The goal of this project is to use different training conditions to create a set of CAD schemes for the characterization of breast calcifications on mammograms. Then to select a subset of these to create a set of CAD-observers that has similar performance to a group of radiologists. The specific aims are: 1. Assemble database and perform observer study; 2. Develop superset of CAD-observers; 3. Select a set of CAD-observers to match radiologists; and 4. Validate CAD-observers. If we are successful, many new developments in medical imaging can be tested more accurately, easily, and quickly saving many months and many dollars in development time and costs. This should reduce the cost and the time it takes new technologies or techniques to gain clinical acceptance.