The impact of faceplate surface characteristics on detection of pulmonary nodules

Introduction In order to prevent specular reflections, many monitor faceplates have features such as tiny dimples on their surface to diffuse ambient light incident on the monitor, however, this "anti-glare" surface may also diffuse the image itself. The purpose of the study was to determine whether the surface characteristics of monitor faceplates influence the detection of pulmonary nodules under low and high ambient lighting conditions. Methods and Materials Separate observer performance studies were conducted at each of two light levels (<1 lux and >250 lux). Twelve examining radiologists with the American Board of Radiology participated in the darker condition and eleven in the brighter condition. All observers read on both smooth "glare" and dimpled "anti-glare" faceplates in a single lighting condition. A counterbalanced methodology was utilized to minimise memory effects. In each reading, observers were presented with thirty chest images in random order, of which half contained a single simulated pulmonary nodule. They were asked to give their confidence that each image did or did not contain a nodule and to mark the suspicious location. ROC analysis was applied to resultant data. Results No statistically significant differences were seen in the trapezoidal area under the ROC curve (AUC), sensitivity, specificity or average time per case at either light level for chest specialists or radiologists from other specialities. Conclusion The characteristics of the faceplate surfaces do not appear to affect detection of pulmonary nodules. Further work into other image types is being conducted.