Tuesday, November 30 | 11:30 a.m.-11:40 a.m. | SSG13-07 | Room S403A
In this Tuesday paper presentation, a University of Chicago team will share its results with a new computer-aided detection (CAD) technique that may yield higher sensitivity for the all-important flat lesions found on virtual colonoscopy.Flat lesions are more likely to contain carcinoma than polypoid lesions, but they are difficult to find, contributing a major source of false-negative results in virtual colonoscopy. They also represent a challenge for CAD systems, said presenter Kenji Suzuki, PhD.
As a result, the researchers sought to develop a CAD algorithm to tackle flat lesions, employing a "spinning tangent" technique. In their study, the spinning tangent technique produced 82% sensitivity for flat lesions, including finding seven lesions that were missed by radiologists in a clinical trial, Suzuki said. The software had a false-positive rate of 4.5 per patient.
In comparison, a current CAD system that relies on the traditional shape-index method of analysis could only muster a sensitivity of 54% and a false-positive rate of 11 per patient.
"Thus, our new computer-aided detection system would be useful for improving radiologists' sensitivity for flat lesions, reducing the mortality due to colorectal cancer," Suzuki said.
![Axial images from unenhanced calcium score cardiac CT (left) and curved planar reformation images from CT angiography (right) show that higher long-term exposure to air pollution is associated with greater coronary artery calcium and more obstructive coronary artery disease (CAD). Top row: Images in a 68-year-old male patient with higher 10-year mean ambient air pollution exposure (7.9 μg/m3 for particulate matter measuring ≤2.5 μm in diameter [PM2.5] and 17.4 parts per billion [ppb] for NO2) with extensive CAD (coronary artery calcium score [CACS] >1,000 and obstructive CAD [≥70% diameter stenosis]). Bottom row: Images in a 57-year-old female patient with lower 10-year mean ambient air pollution exposure (6.3 μg/m3 for PM2.5 and 4.6 ppb for NO2) with no CAD (CACS = 0 and no obstructive stenosis).](https://img.auntminnie.com/mindful/smg/workspaces/default/uploads/2026/06/hanneman.r6SMLzkezo.png?auto=format%2Ccompress&dpr=2&fit=crop&h=167&q=70&w=250)
