Accuracy of automated volumetry of pulmonary nodules across different multislice CT scanners

The purpose of this study was to compare the accuracy of an automated volumetry software for phantom pulmonary nodules across various 16-slice multislice spiral CT (MSCT) scanners from different vendors. A lung phantom containing five different nodule categories (intraparenchymal, around a vessel, vessel attached, pleural, and attached to the pleura), with each category comprised of 7-9 nodules (total, n=40) of varying sizes (diameter 3-10 mm; volume 6.62 mm(3)-525 mm(3)), was scanned with four different 16-slice MSCT scanners (Siemens, GE, Philips, Toshiba). Routine and low-dose chest protocols with thin and thick collimations were applied. The data from all scanners were used for further analysis using a dedicated prototype volumetry software. Absolute percentage volume errors (APE) were calculated and compared. The mean APE for all nodules was 8.4% ( +/- 7.7%) for data acquired with the 16-slice Siemens scanner, 14.3% ( +/- 11.1%) for the GE scanner, 9.7% ( +/- 9.6%) for the Philips scanner and 7.5% ( +/- 7.2%) for the Toshiba scanner, respectively. The lowest APEs were found within the diameter size range of 5-10 mm and volumes > 66 mm(3). Nodule volumetry is accurate with a reasonable volume error in data from different scanner vendors. This may have an important impact for intraindividual follow-up studies.