European breast screening performance: does case volume matter?

Hazel J. Scott; Alastair G. Gale; David S. Wooding; Dieter Walter

doi:10.1117/12.540335

4 May 2004 European breast screening performance: does case volume matter?

Hazel J. Scott, Alastair G. Gale, David S. Wooding, Dieter Walter

Proceedings Volume 5372, Medical Imaging 2004: Image Perception, Observer Performance, and Technology Assessment; (2004) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.540335
Event: Medical Imaging 2004, 2004, San Diego, California, United States

Abstract

U.K. breast screening radiologists typically read over 5,000 screening cases per annum, whereas in Europe this figure may be lower as in some countries national breast screening programs are in development. The PERFORMS scheme in the UK permits radiologists annual self-assessment of their film-reader skills. As part of a Bavarian breast-screening training scheme a number of German radiologists have now also read the current PERFORMS case set. We investigated whether real-life case volume affects reading performance by the comparison of matched groups reading these screening cases. For each case, individuals identified which key mammographic features were present, whether the case was abnormal and should be recalled or not. For this analysis the participants were matched on volume of cases read and years of experience. Assessment of case volume was elicited by questionnaire data. The radiologists were compared on several key performance measures; cancers detected, correct recall and correct return to screen, signal detection performance statistics and real-life screening practice. It was found that whilst the performance of the Bavarian radiologists on the current test sets was extremely good, on average they performed less well than their UK counterparts. Reasons for this are considered.

Citation Download Citation

Hazel J. Scott, Alastair G. Gale, David S. Wooding, and Dieter Walter "European breast screening performance: does case volume matter?", Proc. SPIE 5372, Medical Imaging 2004: Image Perception, Observer Performance, and Technology Assessment, (4 May 2004); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.540335

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