Interpretation time for screening mammography as a function of the number of computer-aided detection marks

Tayler M. Schwartz, Stephen L. Hillis, Radhika Sridharan, Olga Lukyanchenko, William Geiser, Gary J. Whitman, Wei Wei, Tamara Miner Haygood

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

1 Scopus citations

Abstract

Purpose: Computer-aided detection (CAD) alerts radiologists to findings potentially associated with breast cancer but is notorious for creating false-positive marks. Although a previous paper found that radiologists took more time to interpret mammograms with more CAD marks, our impression was that this was not true in actual interpretation. We hypothesized that radiologists would selectively disregard these marks when present in larger numbers. Approach: We performed a retrospective review of bilateral digital screening mammograms. We use a mixed linear regression model to assess the relationship between number of CAD marks and ln (interpretation time) after adjustment for covariates. Both readers and mammograms were treated as random sampling units. Results: Ten radiologists, with median experience after residency of 12.5 years (range 6 to 24) interpreted 1832 mammograms. After accounting for number of images, Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System category, and breast density, the number of CAD marks was positively associated with longer interpretation time, with each additional CAD mark proportionally increasing median interpretation time by 4.35% for a typical reader. Conclusions: We found no support for our hypothesis that radiologists will selectively disregard CAD marks when they are present in larger numbers.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article number022408
JournalJournal of Medical Imaging
Volume7
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Mar 1 2020

Keywords

  • Computer-aided detection
  • Image perception
  • Observer performance evaluation
  • Technology impact

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Radiology Nuclear Medicine and imaging

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