This study was conducted to measure the recognition time of the test pattern and to investigate the effects of the maximum luminance in a medical-grade liquid-crystal display (LCD) on the recognition time. Landolt rings as signals of the test pattern were used with four random orientations, one on each of the eight gray-scale steps. Ten observers input the orientation of the gap on the Landolt rings using cursor keys on the keyboard. The recognition times were automatically measured from the display of the test pattern on the medical-grade LCD to the input of the orientation of the gap in the Landolt rings. The maximum luminance in this study was set to one of four values (100, 170, 250, and 400 cd/m²), for which the corresponding recognition times were measured. As a result, the average recognition times for each observer with maximum luminances of 100, 170, 250, and 400 cd/m² were found to be 3.96 to 7.12 s, 3.72 to 6.35 s, 3.53 to 5.97 s, and 3.37 to 5.98 s, respectively. The results indicate that the observer’s recognition time is directly proportional to the luminance of the medical-grade LCD. Therefore, it is evident that the maximum luminance of the medical-grade LCD affects the test pattern recognition time.

This study evaluates fat suppression of diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) using section select gradient reversal (SSGR) technique in clinical images on 3 T breast MRI. A total of 20 patients with breast cancer were examined at a Philips Ingenia 3 T MRI. We acquired DWI with SPAIR, SSGR-SPAIR, STIR, and SSGR-STIR. We evaluated contrast between the fat region and lesion, the coefficient of variance (CV) of the fat region and the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) of normal breast tissue and lesion. The contrast between the fat region and lesion was improved with SSGR technique. The CV of the fattest region did not have any significant difference in SPAIR technique (p>0.05), but it was significantly decreased in the STIR technique using SSGR technique (p<0.05). Positive correlation was observed in ADC value between SPAIR and other fat suppression techniques (SSGR-SPAIR, STIR, SSGR-STIR). DWI using SSGR technique was suggested to be effective on 3 T breast MRI.

Purpose: This study evaluates the effect of reconstruction strategies for the quantification and diagnostic accuracy of ¹²³I-FP-CIT SPECT. Methods: We evaluated the quantification of ¹²³I-FP-CIT SPECT obtained by several combinations of reconstruction using the striatal phantom. The phantom images were reconstructed using FBP and OSEM with/without attenuation correction (AC) and scatter correction (SC). We calculated the specific binding ratio (SBR) using volume of interest (VOI) analysis on each reconstructed images. For the clinical study, 40 patients who underwent ¹²³I-FP-CIT SPECT were selected. We grouped the patients into the normal binding group and decreased binding group according to their clinical diagnosis. The clinical images were reconstructed under the same conditions as the phantom study. The SBRs were calculated, and a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was performed to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy. Results: The SBRs with AC and SC significantly increased compared with no corrections. In the clinical study, although ROC analysis showed no significant difference in the all combinations of reconstruction, the area under the curve using SC and AC tended to be higher than that obtained by other reconstruction. Conclusions: Quantification of ¹²³I-FP-CIT SPECT was affected by reconstruction strategies. In addition, both the AC and SC improved the diagnostic accuracy of ¹²³I-FP-CIT SPECT. Our results suggest that both the AC and SC are recommended for the improving the quantification and diagnostic accuracy in ¹²³I-FP-CIT SPECT.

Although much evidence about the helical tomotherapy system are available, there is not a document about the procedure of quality assurance (QA) for changing the beam model. This study establishes the commissioning procedure for modifying the beam model of helical tomotherapy. Firstly, some intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) plans were created, and compared them with the calculated dose and the measured dose. Secondly, the absorbed doses to water in the machine-specific reference field and the plan-class specific reference field with a protocol in Japan; Standard Dosimetry of Absorbed Dose to Water in External Beam Radiotherapy (Standard Dosimetry 12) were measured. Thirdly, we reconfirmed patient-specific quality assurance. The recommended commissioning procedure after the change of the beam model was shown through three verification processes. This report would be helpful for not only changing the beam model of helical tomotherapy but also introducing Standard Dosimetry 12 to a clinic.

The discovery of NM530c with a cadmium-zinc-telluride detector (CdZnTe-SPECT) is superior to the conventional Anger-type SPECT with a sodium-iodide detector (NaI-SPECT) in terms of sensitivity and spatial resolution. However, in the clinical example, even in CdZnTe-SPECT, a count decrease in myocardium due to the attenuation of the gamma ray is an issue. This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of computed tomography attenuation correction (CTAC) in CdZnTe-SPECT with the help of external CT. We evaluated the revision effect of uniformity, influence by the difference in attenuation distance, contrast ratio, an uptake rate using the heart phantom. As a result of the phantom studies, a good revision effect was obtained. In the clinical study, there was a statistical significant difference between the contrast ratio before and after CTAC in the inferior wall. In addition, the contrast ratio before and after CTAC in CdZnTe-SPECT image was equal to those of NaI-SPECT image. It was suggested that CTAC using external CT in CdZnTe-SPECT was clinically useful for inferior wall.