Evaluation of ROC Curve in High Kilovoltage Technique Using Simulated Nodules on Chest

고관전압 흉부촬영의 가상결절을 이용한 ROC평가

With transmitted dose through chest which has the problem of wide variations in absorption, simple film/screen combination method makes it diffucult to image lung field, mediastinum and retrocardiac areas. In order to overcome this, it is very common to use the high kilovoltage technique in diminishing the differences between high and low contrast. We have been adopting this method at department of diagnostic radiology, Seoul National University Hospital. To compare the image of it with that of low kilovoltage technique, we did radiographic tests using beans on the skin. We marked off into three anatomical categories such as lungs, mediastinum and near diaphragm, then attached a bean on a marked area at random. In order to compare with high and low, we took a radiography of high($120{\sim}140\;kVp$) and low($70{\sim}90\;kVp$) kilovoltage tehchniques, respectively at the same time. We have done experiments 320 cases. We evaluated the results of test in response to sensitivity(true positive) and specificity(true negative). In evaluating, we gave them points from 1 to 5 according to true or false. With given points by a radiologist having much experiences, we could acquire the percentage of sensitivity and specificity. The percentage made us to get the schematic table of ROC curve of those two methods. Consequently, high kilovoltage technique appeared 18% better than low kilovoltage technique for detecting beans with our apparatus.