Optimizing the Minimum Detectable Difference of Gamma Camera SPECT Images via the Taguchi Analysis: A Feasibility Study with a V-Shaped Slit Gauge

Abstract

This study tried to propose an innovated idea of solidifying the resolution of gamma camera in routine quality control and recommended a quantified index as minimum detectable difference (MDD) of gamma camera SPECT images using the Taguchi analysis and an indigenous V-shaped slit gauge. The gauge was customized to fulfill the quantitative requirement of the Taguchi analysis. The MDD among slit gauge of derived SPECT image was calculated from two overlapped peak profiles collected from a tangent slice of the V-shaped slit gauge with two nearby peaks. In particular, MDD was evaluated as minimum distance between two peak centers through the Student’s t-test with a constant, 1.96, which indicates that two peak centers separated distant enough to create a 95% confidence level of separation. Eighteen combinations of six gamma camera scanned factors were organized according to Taguchi analysis. Accordingly, (A) collimator, (B) detector to targe distance, (C) total counts, (D) acquired energy width, (E) Matrix size, and (F) zoom of collected ROI with each of two or three levels were organized into 18 groups to collect the slit gauge images according to Taguchi L18 orthogonal array. Then, three well-trained radiologists were ranked the scanned gauge images to derive the fish-bone-plot of signal-to-noise ratio (S/N, dB) and correlated ANOVA. Furthermore, the quantified MDD was proposed to verify the optimal suggestion of gamma camera scanned protocol, and obtained the MDD as 8.4, 7.9, and 7.1 mm for the second group of original L18 preset, conventional, and the optimal preset, respectively. Thus, the optimal preset of gamma camera was achieved in this study. The MDD proved to be a successful index in quantifying the imaging resolution of a gamma camera.

Strategi Pengendalian Kualitas Produk Bumbu Tabur Menggunakan Metode Taguchi

“…Pendekatan metode ini mengaplikasikan Design of Experiments (DOE), yang merupakan elemen krusial dalam upaya mencapai mutu superior dan menggali alternatif solusi yang efektif (Ke et al, 2022). DOE berfungsi untuk menganalisis berbagai variasi Jurnal Inovasi Daerah, Vol 2, No.…”

Evaluation of Single-Photon Emission Computed Tomography Myocardial Perfusion Detection Capability through Physical Descriptors

“…Image quality is related to system performance and can be expressed by several physical parameters. The most important are related to the imaging system, i.e., contrast, spatial resolution, sensitivity, and uniformity [1][2][3][4][5][6][7]. When performing MPI on a SPECT system with NaI-crystal and parallel-hole collimators, only a small portion of the detector area is used.…”

Potential risk quantification from multiple biological factors via the inverse problem algorithm as an artificial intelligence tool in clinical diagnosis

“…Furthermore, the contributions of particular risk factors or their cross-interactions can be evaluated and ranked by their importance [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 ]. Unlike the Taguchi optimization algorithm, which is used to optimize one purpose from a combination of multiple factors [ 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 ], IPA directly estimates the expectation value from a group of data. Thus, IPA provides more quantified information than Taguchi’s approach, suggesting just the optimal combination of factors.…”