%0 Journal Article
%T Decision Support for Radiologists
%A M. Fatehi
%J Iranian Journal of Radiology
%D 2005
%I Tehran University of Medical Sciences
%X Introduction & Background: Radiology practice like any other discipline in medicine consists of professional problem solving. A practicing radiologist may face different kinds of problems from pathology finding in im-age, suggestion of appropriate workup in a specific situation, formulating relevant differential diagnosis list for comparison with normal variants and artifacts. When a radiologist has the opportunity to use a computer he/she will also be able to use digital material/technology to solve these problems and make sound decisions. The available methods/materials for digital decision support in radiology may be categorized as follow: A. Image Processing When a radiological image is captured or converted to digital format, techniques like edge enhancement and contrast change may improve the diagnostic value of an image and help in decision making. B. Computer-aided Detection Thoracic imaging and mammography are two fields with promising advances in computer-aided diagnosis (CAD). The ultimate role of CAD is as a second opinion besides radiologists own perception. It is obvious how-ever that when available, CAD may decrease detection errors in radiology practice. C. Decision Support Databases Image Banks: An electronic atlas may be used to compare patients¡¯ image to a predefined classified set of im-ages in order to help radiologist in pattern recognition. This may also be used for anatomic details and variants. Knowledge Bases: A digital differential diagnosis table or algorithmic approach to a specific problem may be helpful in reading room. Digital Textbooks: Classical radiological textbooks may be used in routine practice to remember some definitions, lists or hints, When available, digital version of textbooks are invaluable decision aids. D. Internet resources Online resources can be easily updated, widely used by different users, uniformly applied by different radiolo-gists. Although digital decision support materials and technology have been proved effective for radiologists, they are not widely available. There exists some commercial products and free mainly online university re-sources.
%U http://journals.tums.ac.ir/PdfMed.aspx?pdf_med=/upload_files/pdf/2248.pdf&manuscript_id=2248