Assessment of Clinical X-Ray Angiography Protocols Employing A Model Observer Approach

This study aims to validate a methodology for assessing clinical X-ray angiography (XA) protocols using a model observer, aligning its performance with that of a human observer through a straightforward figure of merit (FOM).
Datasets with cardiac, neurological, and vascular protocols were analyzed using a 40-channel Gabor channelized Hotelling observer (CHO) to calculate contrast-detail (CD) curves. A customized FOM, considering both image quality and kerma rate, was computed. The FOM effectively described the optimization of XA protocols, indicating that well-optimized new XA units outperformed older ones (p = 0.008). This study establishes the feasibility of employing a CHO model observer to evaluate angiography system quality using a CD paradigm. Accumulating data over time will aid in establishing tolerance requirements for future quality assurance guidelines.