Doody's Review Service
Reviewer: Ann Scherzinger, PhD (University of Colorado School of Medicine)Description: This compilation of papers includes new developments in CAD for chest, breast, vascular, musculoskeletal, gastrointestinal, and nuclear imaging with added discussion of the relevance of PACS and 3D imaging to the implementation of CAD schemes. A majority of the applications involve chest and breast imaging, as that has historically been the primary focus of this research.
Purpose: CAD has long had a reputation of being a sinister attempt on the part of the computer savvy to usurp the diagnostic function of the physician and has historically been unsuccessful at that objective. The editors of this book aim to present the efforts of those researchers who are focused on the use of CAD as an adjunct to the diagnostic process, allowing the computer to aid in the visualization and preclassification of pathology.
Audience: This text is useful for both radiologists and researchers.
Features: The editors and contributors are the leaders in the field of CAD applications and begin each clinical section with an overview of the history and application of CAD in their clinical area. The papers vary in focus from clinical tests of CAD applications to technical discussions of the algorithms used. However, there is a focus on clinical evaluation of the applications, making this text a useful compilation for both radiologists and researchers. In addition, a majority of the contributors present clinical images as a means of illustrating their application.
Assessment: As one who has been peripherally following this research for the past ten years, I found this text to be a very readable and informative update of the progress of this exciting field.