An expert system for the interpretation of radionuclide ventilation-perfusion lung scans

Frank V. Gabor; Frederick L. Datz; Paul E. Christian; Grant T. Gullberg; Kathryn A. Morton

doi:10.1117/12.154556

14 September 1993 An expert system for the interpretation of radionuclide ventilation-perfusion lung scans

Frank V. Gabor, Frederick L. Datz, Paul E. Christian, Grant T. Gullberg, Kathryn A. Morton

Proceedings Volume 1898, Medical Imaging 1993: Image Processing; (1993) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.154556
Event: Medical Imaging 1993, 1993, Newport Beach, CA, United States

Abstract

One of the most commonly performed imaging procedures in nuclear medicine is the lung scan for suspected pulmonary embolism. The purpose of this research was to develop an expert system that interprets lung scans and gives a probability of pulmonary embolism. Three standard ventilation and eight standard perfusion images are first outlined manually. Then the images are normalized. Because lung size varies from patient to patient, each image undergoes a two-dimensional stretch onto a standard-size mask. To determine the presence of regional defects in ventilation or perfusion, images are then compared on a pixel by pixel basis with a normal database. This database consists of 21 normal studies that represent the variation in activity between subjects. Any pixel that falls more than 2.2 standard deviations below the normal file is flagged as possibly abnormal. To reduce statistical fluctuations, a clustering criteria is applied such that each pixel must have at least two continuous neighbors that are abnormal for a pixel to be flagged abnormal.

Citation Download Citation

Frank V. Gabor, Frederick L. Datz, Paul E. Christian, Grant T. Gullberg, and Kathryn A. Morton "An expert system for the interpretation of radionuclide ventilation-perfusion lung scans", Proc. SPIE 1898, Medical Imaging 1993: Image Processing, (14 September 1993); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.154556

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