Development of a tomosynthesis system for the quantitative assessment of suspected pulmonary neoplastic lesions

2024 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 20K20224
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Early-Career Scientists
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: Basic Section 90130:Medical systems-related
• Research Institution: Kobe Tokiwa University (2021-2024); Kyushu University (2020)
• Principal Investigator: Kuramoto Taku 神戸常盤大学, 保健科学部, 准教授 (90645582)
• Project Period (FY): 2020-04-01 – 2025-03-31
• Keywords: トモシンセシス / 画像診断 / 肺がん / がん検診 / 画質評価

Outline of Final Research Achievements

This study aimed to elucidate the imaging characteristics of tomosynthesis and to develop a system capable of quantitative analysis of pulmonary oncologic lesions. The properties of tomosynthesis images were quantitatively validated using a domestically implemented tomosynthesis device. Assessment of geometric distortion within the effective field of view demonstrated distinct variations in distortion patterns between the central and peripheral regions of the images. Additionally, the center of rotation setting during image acquisition was found to significantly influence the degree of geometric distortion. Moreover, the study confirmed that image quality can be quantitatively assessed by incorporating image quality figure into the evaluation process.

Free Research Field

医用画像工学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

我が国の医療施設におけるCT検査の検査件数は増加の一途をたどっている．一方，単純X線装置やX線TV装置を用いるトモシンセシスは，検査時間が短いため，限られた検査室，検査時間においても患者スループットを大幅に向上できる．また，低被ばく・低費用で検査が行うことが可能で，かつ高画質な連続する断層画像を取得できる．つまり，肺がん検診に対して必要最低限の被ばくとコストで正確な診断が行え，早期発見・治療を求める社会的ニーズに答えることができる可能性がある．本研究で実施したトモシンセシスの画像の特性をより詳細に把握することは，臨床的有用性のエビデンスの構築に寄与する取り組みである．