ICRU Report 54 The Assessment of Image Quality

During the past two decades, the field of medical imaging has achieved dramatic improvements in imaging system capability with accompanying increases in system complexity. Much of this progress has been fueled by advances in computing technology and the widespread adoption of digital techniques for data acquisition, processing and display. Although every branch of medical imaging has been significantly affected, the most striking examples ofthis revolution are x-ray computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging. Fortunately, a consensus on quantitative measurement methodology for assessing diagnostic imaging technologies has been gradually emerging. It has grown out of the recognition of common features among imaging modalities that allows their limitations to be understood within the framework of statistical decision analysis.