Systematic radiation dose optimization of abdominal dual-energy CT on a second-generation dual-source CT scanner: assessment of the accuracy of iodine uptake measurement and image quality in an in vitro and in vivo investigations

Abstract

A dose reduction of 41% is feasible for the manufacturer-recommended, abdominal dual-energy CT protocol, as it maintained the accuracy of iodine measurements and subjective image quality compared to a single-energy protocol.

Interscanner and Intrascanner Comparison of Virtual Unenhanced Attenuation Values Derived From Twin Beam Dual-Energy and Dual-Source, Dual-Energy Computed Tomography

“…The following technical parameters were applied for the dsDECT: tube A, 100 kVp; 150 or 170 reference mAs; tube B, 140 kVp, 128 or 145 reference mAs (reference milliampere seconds of tube B was automatically adjusted with a fixed ratio of 1:1.172 [tube A: tube B]; the lower reference milliampere pair was used for all patients in the intrascanner cohort and 63 patients of the interscanner group, whereas the higher reference milliampere settings were used for 63 patients of the interscanner group) 7 ; 32 Â 0.6 mm collimation; 0.5 seconds rotation time; and 0.6 pitch. The datasets were reconstructed with a sinogram-affirmed iterative reconstruction algorithm (SAFIRE; Siemens Healthineers, Erlangen, Germany) using a strength of 3 at a slice thickness of 1.5 mm.…”

“…5 Passing the gold part of the filter results in a low-energy spectrum with a mean photon energy of 68 keV, whereas the tin filtration results in a highenergy spectrum with a mean photon energy of 86 keV. 6 Several applications of dual-energy CT in the abdomen have been described based on material decomposition images for material characterization, simulated monoenergetic low keV images for improved lesion conspicuity, and virtual unenhanced (VUE) images generated from enhanced dual-energy CT. [7][8][9][10] Virtual unenhanced images in abdominal imaging have been shown to be useful for soft tissue lesion characterization (eg, adrenal adenoma), vascular assessment, renal stone detection, or the assessment of contrast media enhancement in suspect soft tissue lesions. [11][12][13][14][15][16][17] The number of repeated CT scans, in particular in oncologic imaging, is unremittingly increasing.…”

Technical Note: Validation of TG 233 phantom methodology to characterize noise and dose in patient CT data

“…[ These studies can be divided into two categories: prospective studies performed in phantoms[; and retrospective assessments performed in cohorts of patients. [ Studies that design and evaluate optimization actions using phantoms, while innovative and informative, achieve results that are not directly translatable to real patient populations and are strictly applicable only for specific patient sizes. [ Thus, such results are typically referenced for designing and implementing optimization strategies that are subsequently evaluated in retrospective studies.…”