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Slice-thickness evaluation in CT and MRI: an alternative computerised procedure

Determinazione dello spessore dello strato in TC e RM: una procedura computerizzata alternativa

  • Computer Applications / Informatica
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Abstract

Purpose

The efficient use of computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) equipment necessitates establishing adequate quality-control (QC) procedures. In particular, the accuracy of slice thickness (ST) requires scan exploration of phantoms containing test objects (plane, cone or spiral). To simplify such procedures, a novel phantom and a computerised LabView-based procedure have been devised, enabling determination of full width at half maximum (FWHM) in real time.

Materials and methods

The phantom consists of a polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) box, diagonally crossed by a PMMA septum dividing the box into two sections. The phantom images were acquired and processed using the LabView-based procedure.

Results

The LabView (LV) results were compared with those obtained by processing the same phantom images with commercial software, and the Fisher exact test (F test) was conducted on the resulting data sets to validate the proposed methodology.

Conclusions

In all cases, there was no statistically significant variation between the two different procedures and the LV procedure, which can therefore be proposed as a valuable alternative to other commonly used procedures and be reliably used on any CT and MRI scanner.

Riassunto

Obiettivo

Un parametro di fondamentale importanza da monitorare durante i controlli di qualità sulle apparecchiature di tomografia computerizzata (TC) e di risonanza magnetica (RM) è rappresentato dall’accuratezza dello slice thickness (ST), per la cui verifica i protocolli standard richiedono procedure complesse e fantocci dedicati. Al fine di semplificare tali procedure è stato realizzato un nuovo fantoccio e sviluppato un software in ambiente LabView per la determinazione della larghezza a metà del massimo (FWHM) del line profile in tempo reale.

Materiali e metodi

Il fantoccio consiste in una scatola con inserito diagonalmente un setto che divide il box in due sezioni, entrambi in polimetilmetacrilato (PMMA). Le immagini acquisite vengono processate mediante il software sviluppato.

Risultati

I risultati ottenuti con la metodologia LabView sono stati confrontati con quelli conseguiti elaborando le stesse immagini mediante un software commerciale. è stato inoltre condotto il test statistico di Fisher (F-test) al fine di validare ulteriormente la metodologia proposta.

Conclusioni

In tutti i casi analizzati non è emersa alcuna variazione statisticamente significativa tra le due diverse procedure, validando cosÌ la procedura messa a punto con il LabView. Pertanto, può essere proposta come una valida alternativa alle procedure comunemente adottate ed utilizzata indifferentemente in TC ed RM.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Environmental, Health, Social and Industrial Department, University of Messina, Policlinico Universitario — Torre Biologica, Viale Gazzi, 98125, Messina, Italy

    G. Acri, M. G. Tripepi, B. Testagrossa & G. Vermiglio

  2. Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering, University of Bath, Bath, BA27AY, UK

    F. Causa

  3. Department of Experimental Medicine, University of Insubria, Viale Borri 57, 21100, Varese, Italy

    R. Novario

Authors
  1. G. Acri
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  2. M. G. Tripepi
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  3. F. Causa
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  4. B. Testagrossa
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  5. R. Novario
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  6. G. Vermiglio
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Correspondence to G. Acri.

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Acri, G., Tripepi, M.G., Causa, F. et al. Slice-thickness evaluation in CT and MRI: an alternative computerised procedure. Radiol med 117, 507–518 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11547-011-0775-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11547-011-0775-5

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