Supine-only CTC with CAD drops radiation dose

Wednesday, December 2 | 11:40 a.m.-11:50 a.m. | SSK06-08 | Room E351

Supine-only reading of CT colonography (CTC) data with computer-aided detection (CAD) could potentially enable single-position CTC exams, cutting both radiation dose and reading time in half, according to researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital.

"At present, CT colonography examinations are acquired in two patient positions: supine and prone," study author Janne Nappi, PhD, told AuntMinnie.com by email. "In this study, the feasibility of computer-aided supine-only reading was investigated in full cathartic CTC by using a computer-aided detection system as a second reader on 266 multicenter CTC cases."

The cases came from a multicenter CTC trial for patients at average or high risk for colorectal cancer, in which the patients were scanned after cathartic bowel preparation. Sensitivities ranged from 90% to 91%.

"The results indicate that computer-aided supine-only reading yields as high a performance as conventional supine-prone CTC reading," Nappi said. "Supine-only reading of CTC could reduce the radiation dose of CTC examinations by up to 50%."