PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Hai Jeon Yoon
AU  - Tae-Sung Kim
AU  - Seok-Ki Kim
AU  - Chang-bu Jeong
AU  - Kwang-ki Kim
TI  - Comparison of clinical performance between image enhancement methods for evaluation of interval changes in successive bone scans
DP  - 2011 May 01
TA  - Journal of Nuclear Medicine
PG  - 2037--2037
VI  - 52
IP  - supplement 1
4099  - http://jnm.snmjournals.org/content/52/supplement_1/2037.short
4100  - http://jnm.snmjournals.org/content/52/supplement_1/2037.full
SO  - J Nucl Med2011 May 01; 52
AB  - 2037 Objectives Cancer patients are followed up with whole-body bone scans (WBBS) many times. The incoherent image quality of each WBBS makes it difficult and time-consuming to discern subtle interval changes. We previously introduced histogram-based image processing methods to normalize successive WBBS. Thereby, we aimed to compare their clinical performances. Methods WBBS of 29 patients were reviewed. Histogram equalization (HE), exact histogram matching (EHM) and contrast-limited adaptive HE (CLAHE) methods were compared. First, we evaluated the consistency of image quality (consistency of intensity, degree of soft tissue visualization, bone to soft tissue ratio, and abnormal to normal lesion ratio) with 3 point scales. Second, two nuclear medicine physicians blindly assessed interval changes with 3 point scales. These results were compared with that from senior nuclear medicine physicians' consensus using raw WBBS. Results EHM showed the best consistency of image quality. The score sums of EHM, CLAHE, and HE were 627, 605, and 554 points. EHM had the best scores in the factors of consistency of intensity, degree of soft tissue visualization, and abnormal to normal lesion ratio factors. HE had the best scores in bone to soft tissue ratio. In the light of interval changes of bone lesion, CLAHE showed the highest agreement (Κ 0.88), followed by EHM (Κ 0.69) and HE (Κ 0.48). All 3 methods demonstrated significant agreement (p<0.001). Conclusions EHM was the best method in the quality maintenance, whereas CLAHE was the most reliable method for accurate interval change detection. However, in spite of minor discrepancies, all 3 methods improved the consistency of image quality and reflected interval changes in the successive WBBS