Document Detail


Image Quality of Low-Energy Pulmonary CT Angiography: Comparison With Standard CT.
MedLine Citation:
PMID:  21785053     Owner:  NLM     Status:  In-Data-Review    
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this article is to prospectively compare visualization of central and peripheral pulmonary arteries on simultaneously acquired low-energy and standard pulmonary CT angiography.
SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Thirty-three consecutive patients (20 women and 13 men; mean age, 55.6 years; range, 21-92 years) with suspected pulmonary embolism (PE) were scanned (140 kVp; 250-300 mA) on a single-source dual-layer dual-energy MDCT scanner. Attenuation and image noise were measured at the main and segmental pulmonary arteries. Signal-to-noise ratios were calculated. Two blinded experienced radiologists assessed segmental and subsegmental artery visibility in consensus, using slab maximum-intensity-projection (MIP) reconstructions. Nonparametric sign test and kappa statistic were used for statistical analysis.
RESULTS: PE was detected in three patients (9.1%); two segmental vessel and subsegmental emboli were seen in the low-energy images only. Higher attenuation was noted in low-energy versus standard images for all arteries evaluated, with a mean (± SD) increase of 66.6 ± 4.4 HU (p < 0.0001). Low-energy images improved visualization of segmental and subsegmental arteries from 97.0% to 99.2% and from 88.0% to 93.9%, respectively. A larger number of subsegmental vessels was seen on low-energy MIP reconstructions in 69.7% (95% CI, 36.5-71.89%) of studies compared with 9.1% on the standard images. Visualization of subsegmental vessels was superior in 55.5% of cases using low-energy imaging. The mean image noise increased by 9.7 ± 0.6 HU (p < 0.0001). The mean signal-to-noise ratio showed no significant difference in the low-energy (8.2) versus standard (8.1) CT images (p = 0.7759).
CONCLUSION: Improved visualization of central and peripheral arteries can be obtained with low-energy pulmonary CT angiography, without a substantial decrease in image quality.
Authors:
Naama R Bogot; Alexander Fingerle; Dorith Shaham; Izhak Nissenbaum; Jacob Sosna
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Publication Detail:
Type:  Journal Article    
Journal Detail:
Title:  AJR. American journal of roentgenology     Volume:  197     ISSN:  1546-3141     ISO Abbreviation:  AJR Am J Roentgenol     Publication Date:  2011 Aug 
Date Detail:
Created Date:  2011-07-25     Completed Date:  -     Revised Date:  -    
Medline Journal Info:
Nlm Unique ID:  7708173     Medline TA:  AJR Am J Roentgenol     Country:  United States    
Other Details:
Languages:  eng     Pagination:  W273-8     Citation Subset:  AIM; IM    
Affiliation:
Department of Radiology, Hadassah-Hebrew University Medical Center, PO Box 12000, Jerusalem 91120, Israel.
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