Table 2.
Description of the categories of image quality characteristics
| Image quality characteristic | Score | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
| Overall perceived image quality | Non-diagnostic | Poor image quality, insufficient for the evaluation of subtle pathology | Moderate image quality, sufficient for soft tissue evaluation | Good image quality; equal to current standard | Excellent image quality, superior to current standard |
| Natural appearance | Unnatural appearance impairing diagnostic quality | Substantial unnatural appearance, moderate impairment of diagnostic quality | Moderate unnatural appearance, not impairing diagnostic quality | Natural appearance is normal; equal to current standard | Natural appearance is superior to current standard |
| Artefacts | Severe artefacts, non-diagnostic quality | Substantial artefacts, moderate impairment of diagnostic quality; | Clearly visible artefacts, no impairment of diagnostic quality; | Hardly visible artefacts | No artefacts |
| Noise | Excessive noise, impairs diagnostic quality | Substantial noise increase; reduced image quality | Moderate increase of noise compared to current standard | Average noise; equal to current standard |
Low noise magnitude, lower than current standard |
| Sharpness | Excessive blurring, impairs diagnostic quality | Substantial blurring; reduced image quality | Moderate sharpness; less sharpness compared to current standard | Average sharpness; equal to current standard | Sharp delineation of structures, superior to current standard |
| Grey-/white-matter differentiation | Poor GM/WM differentiation, impairing diagnostic quality | Reduced GM/WM differentiation, reduced diagnostic quality | Acceptable GM/WM differentiation; lower to current standard | Average GM/WM differentiation; equal to current standard | Better GM/WM differentiation compared to current standard |
GM: grey matter; WM: white matter