ROC-study of a teleradiology workstation versus film readings

Purpose: We have used receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis to compare screen assessment of digitized radiographic films transmitted by a teleradiology system, with evaluation of the original radiographs on film. Material and Methods: The material contained 120 cases (about 50% with selected pathology) that were difficult to diagnose. Four radiologists each evaluated half of the cases on film, and half on computer screen. The screen display was 1024x836 pixels with 8 bits/pixel. Results: We found the accuracy and sensitivity of the teleradiology system to be clearly inferior to film evaluation. Conclusion: Improvement is needed both in the teleradiology system, and in the training of radiologists to work on the electronic workstation.