RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Role of an Intensity-Transformation Function in Enhancement of Bone Scintigraphy Images
JF Journal of Nuclear Medicine Technology
JO J. Nucl. Med. Technol.
FD Society of Nuclear Medicine
SP 274
OP 279
DO 10.2967/jnmt.117.202929
VO 46
IS 3
A1 Anil Kumar Pandey
A1 Vishali Dhiman
A1 Akshima Sharma
A1 Sreedharan Thankarajan ArunRaj
A1 Vivek Baghel
A1 Chetan Patel
A1 Param Dev Sharma
A1 Chandra Sekhar Bal
A1 Rakesh Kumar
YR 2018
UL http://tech.snmjournals.org/content/46/3/274.abstract
AB Bone scintigraphy images might exceed the dynamic range (the ratio between the highest and the lowest displayable brightness) of the monitor. In such a case, a high-intensity area accompanied by loss of detail in other structures in the displayed image make the clinical interpretation challenging. We have investigated the role of an intensity-transformation (IT) function in enhancement of these types of images. Methods: Forty high-dynamic-range bone scintigraphy images were processed using an IT function. The IT function has 2 parameters: threshold and slope. With the threshold kept equal to the mean count of the image, the slope was varied from 1 to 20. A software program developed in-house was used to process the images. Twenty output images corresponding to one input image were visually inspected by 2 experienced nuclear medicine physicians to select images of diagnostic quality, and from their selection was determined the standardized slope that produced the maximum number of diagnostic images. The 2 physicians also scored the quality of the input and output images (at the standardized slope) on a scale of 1–5. The Student t test was used to determine the significance of differences in mean score between the input and output images at an α significance level of 0.05. Results: Application of the IT function with standardized parameters significantly improved the quality of high-dynamic-range bone scintigraphy images (P < 0.001, with α = 0.05). A slope of 8 maximized the number of diagnostic images. Conclusion: The IT function has a significant role in enhancing high-dynamic-range bone scintigraphy images.