ROC-study of a Teleradiology Workstation Versus Film Readings

Purpose: We have used receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis to compare screen assessment of digitized radiographic films transmitted by a teleradiology system, with evaluation of the original radiographs on film.

Material And Methods: The material contained 120 cases (about 50% with selected pathology) that were difficult to diagnose. Four radiologists each evaluated half of the cases on film, and half on computer screen. The screen display was 1024 x 836 pixels with 8 bits/pixel.

Results: We found the accuracy and sensitivity of the teleradiology system to be clearly inferior to film evaluation.

Conclusion: Improvement is needed both in the teleradiology system, and in the training of radiologists to work on the electronic workstation.