Implementing a Combined Lesion Measurement Tool in Hybrid PET Imaging to Reduce Clicks in Routine Clinical Practice: a Single-Center Brief Report.

OBJECTIVE

To develop a tool for the clinical hybrid imaging workflow which combines morphologic and functional measurements. And to quantify the number of clicks saved per positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) interpretation.

METHODS

A tool was developed where a volume of interest (VOI) is automatically created around line distance measurements. VOI statistics for both PET and CT component, and line distances are generated and displayed. Usage data for the first two months after introduction of the tool was analyzed.

RESULTS

Eleven radiologists and nuclear medicine physicians used the tool in 364 PET/CTs. In 19% of examinations, the novel tool was the only tool that needed to be used. The novel combined tool was used 1001 times, whereas the traditional spherical VOI had been placed 1131 times. The usage ratio of new to traditional tool differed significantly between examinations with ≤ 6 annotations (ratio 1.0) versus > 6 annotations (ratio 0.63, p = 0.030). The average number of saved clicks per PET/CT was estimated at 16.5.

CONCLUSION

A novel combined measurement tool for hybrid imaging was implemented and saved on average 16.5 clicks per examination. These improvements contribute to a smoother workflow and demonstrate the positive impact of thoughtful software design in medical practice.