is an essential component of nearly all diagnostic US procedures. In this era of increased awareness of the effects of ionizing radiation and the side effects of iodine-and gadolinium-based contrast agents, Doppler US is poised to play an even bigger role in medical imaging. It is safe, cost-effective, portable, and highly accurate when performed by an experienced operator. The sensitivities and specificities of Doppler US for detecting blood flow and determining the direction and velocity of blood flow in various organs and vascular systems have increased dramatically in the past decade. With use of advanced flow techniques that are available for use with most modern equipment, US can provide vascular information that is comparable to or even more accurate than that obtained with other cross-sectional and interventional modalities. However, there remains concern that US (including newer more advanced flow-evaluating techniques) will not be used to its full potential owing to dependence on operator skill and expertise. Thorough understanding of image optimization techniques and expanded knowledge of the physical principles, instrumentation, application, advantages, and limitations of this modality are of utmost importance. The authors provide a simple practical guide for optimizing images for vascular flow detection by reviewing various cases and focusing on the parameters that should be optimized.
FBP, SafeCT, ASIR, and MBIR can enable optimal lesion evaluation on chest CT acquired at a volume CT dose index of 2 mGy. However, all submillisievert reconstruction techniques were suboptimal for visualization of mediastinal structures. Submillisievert MBIR images were suboptimal for visibility of normal lung structures despite showing lower image noise.
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