Evaluation of novice reader diagnostic performance in coronary CT angiography using an advanced cardiac software package

Purpose The purpose of this research was to evaluate whether a commercially available advanced cardiac software package for coronary CT angiography (CTA) interpretation may reliably assist inexperienced readers to screen for significant coronary artery stenoses. Methods Coronary CTA data sets of 61 consecutive patients with suspected coronary artery disease were evaluated by three novice readers with no experience in cardiac CT interpretation. In the first 15 patients, the novice readers were trained to use the advanced cardiac software package (includes automatic detection of coronary vessels, curved MPR and VRT reconstructions and a measurement too) knowing the results of an expert read. In the next 46 patients, the novice readers had to state whether there is a significant coronary artery stenosis ( > 50