EP01.39: Interobserver reproducibility of the contrast‐to‐noise ratio assessment at the 18‐week scan

This study aimed to evaluate interoperator reproducibility for contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) assessment at the 18-week scan. This retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted at a single-centre. The study sample comprised 187 consecutive 18-week scans, including 205 fetuses and 565 ultrasound images. Ultrasound examinations were performed by a single operator using a General Electric Medical Systems (Zipf, Austria) machine and an RM6C 2–7-MHz curved array transducer with consistent settings. Two independent and blinded sonographers scored the contrast and noise levels on a scale of 1 to 3 for two regions of interest, each corresponding to a small and a large anatomical structures, in the four-chamber, abdominal perimeter, and longitudinal spine views. The CNR was classified as poor (CNR < .75), fair (CNR: .75÷1.5), good (CNR: 1.5÷2.25) and excellent (CNR >2.25). Interobserver agreements of CNR for the two operators were fair to good. We demonstrated moderate interobserver reproducibility of the CNR. Sonographer CNR assessment of the 4-chamber view may be the best approach for evaluating the quality of ultrasound images in daily routine practice. Please note: The publisher is not responsible for the content or functionality of any supporting information supplied by the authors. Any queries (other than missing content) should be directed to the corresponding author for the article.