Semi-Automatic Measurement of the Airway Dimension by Computed Tomography Using the Full-Width-Half-Maximum Method: a Study on the Measurement Accuracy according to the CT Parameters and Size of the Airway

The study aimed to evaluate the impact of various factors, including the size of the airway and CT imaging parameters, on the automatic measurement of airway dimensions. An airway phantom containing tubes of varying diameters and wall thicknesses was used, and CT images were reconstructed with different kernels, field-of-view, and slice thicknesses. The results showed that accuracy was most reliable using images reconstructed with a standard kernel. The study concluded that standardization of imaging protocols and selecting the appropriate anatomical level are crucial for accurate measurement. The developed method was applied to AVIEW COPD's airway measurement algorithm.