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Effects of quantum noise and binocular summation on dose requirements in stereoradiography
Author(s) -
Maidment Andrew D. A.,
Bakic Predrag R.,
Albert Michael
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
medical physics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.473
H-Index - 180
eISSN - 2473-4209
pISSN - 0094-2405
DOI - 10.1118/1.1621869
Subject(s) - imaging phantom , observer (physics) , quantum noise , stereoscopy , artificial intelligence , computer vision , radiography , projection (relational algebra) , detector , mathematics , optics , noise (video) , image quality , nuclear medicine , computer science , physics , medicine , image (mathematics) , algorithm , quantum , radiology , quantum mechanics
In the case of a quantum‐noise limited detector, signal detection theory suggests that stereoradiographic images can be acquired with one half of the per‐image dose needed for a standard radiographic projection, as information from the two stereo images can be combined. Previously, film–screen stereoradiography has been performed using the same per‐image dose as in projection radiography, i.e., doubling the total dose. In this paper, the assumption of a possible decrease in dose for stereoradiography was tested by a series of contrast‐detail experiments, using phantom images acquired over a range of exposures. The number of visible details, the effective reduction of the dose, and the effective decrease in the threshold signal‐to‐noise ratio were determined using human observers under several display and viewing conditions. These results were averaged over five observers and compared with multiple readings by a single observer and with the results of an additional observer with limited stereoscopic acuity. Experimental results show that the total dose needed to produce a stereoradiographic image pair is approximately 1.1 times the dose needed for a single projection in standard radiography, indicating that under these conditions the human visual system demonstrates almost ideal binocular summation.