Relationship between imaging condition and diagnostic information in bone scintigrams

Image quality of scintigrams is influenced by several imaging conditions. But, the relationship between image quality and diagnostic information has been not clearly evaluated. Therefore the diagnostic information was evaluated visually by radiologists using bone scintigrams changing the imaging conditions: total counts, image density, and distance from collimator to patient surface. The diagnostic information was considered the point of whether normal or abnormal scintigrams and in the abnormal scintigrams, the information of abnormal position, the abnormal area and the abnormal radioactive distribution on the bone scintigrams. Analysis of variance for the diagnostic information was performed. We concluded that using our methods the relationship between imaging condition and diagnostic information is analyzed quantitatively and the base of imaging technique is evaluated objectively. (author)