Effects of 1 year of training on the performance of ultrasonographic image interpretation: A preliminary evaluation using images of Sjögren syndrome patients

Abstract

Purpose This study investigated the effects of 1 year of training on imaging diagnosis, using static ultrasonography (US) salivary gland images of Sjögren syndrome patients. Materials and Methods This study involved 3 inexperienced radiologists with different levels of experience, who received training 1 or 2 days a week under the supervision of experienced radiologists. The training program included collecting patient histories and performing physical and imaging examinations for various maxillofacial diseases. The 3 radiologists (observers A, B, and C) evaluated 400 static US images of salivary glands twice at a 1-year interval. To compare their performance, 2 experienced radiologists evaluated the same images. Diagnostic performance was compared between the 2 evaluations using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC). Results Observer A, who was participating in the training program for the second year, exhibited no significant difference in AUC between the first and second evaluations, with results consistently comparable to those of experienced radiologists. After 1 year of training, observer B showed significantly higher AUCs than before training. The diagnostic performance of observer B reached the level of experienced radiologists for parotid gland assessment, but differed for submandibular gland assessment. For observer C, who did not complete the training, there was no significant difference in the AUC between the first and second evaluations, both of which showed significant differences from those of the experienced radiologists. Conclusion These preliminary results suggest that the training program effectively helped inexperienced radiologists reach the level of experienced radiologists for US examinations.

Overview of Ultrasound in Dentistry for Advancing Research Methodology and Patient Care Quality with Emphasis on Periodontal/Peri-implant Applications

“…Moreover, high-frequency ultrasound has shown efficacy on scanning subgingival crown preparation and gingival thickness [57] , [140] . Hence, it’s role as a diagnostic tool for salivary glands has been widely investigated [141] , [142] , [143] , [144] , [145] , [146] , [147] , [148] , [149] , [150] , [151] , [152] , [153] , [154] , as well as the evaluation of temporomandibular joint disorders [48] , [56] , [155] , [156] , [157] , [158] , [159] , [160] , [161] , [162] ( Fig. 7 and Appendix Table 4 ).…”