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European Radiology
Published in: European Radiology 7/2018

01-07-2018 | Computed Tomography

Dual-energy CT: a phantom comparison of different platforms for abdominal imaging

Authors: Thorsten Sellerer, Peter B. Noël, Manuel Patino, Anushri Parakh, Sebastian Ehn, Sascha Zeiter, Jasmin A. Holz, Johannes Hammel, Alexander A. Fingerle, Franz Pfeiffer, David Maintz, Ernst J. Rummeny, Daniela Muenzel, Dushyant V. Sahani

Published in: European Radiology | Issue 7/2018

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Abstract

Objectives

Evaluation of imaging performance across dual-energy CT (DECT) platforms, including dual-layer CT (DLCT), rapid-kVp-switching CT (KVSCT) and dual-source CT (DSCT).

Methods

A semi-anthropomorphic abdomen phantom was imaged on these DECT systems. Scans were repeated three times for CTDIvol levels of 10 mGy, 20 mGy, 30 mGy and different fat-simulating extension rings. Over the available range of virtual-monoenergetic images (VMI), noise as well as quantitative accuracy of hounsfield units (HU) and iodine concentrations were evaluated.

Results

For all VMI levels, HU values could be determined with high accuracy compared to theoretical values. For KVSCT and DSCT, a noise increase was observed towards lower VMI levels. A patient-size dependent increase in the uncertainty of quantitative iodine concentrations is observed for all platforms. For a medium patient size the iodine concentration root-mean-square deviation at 20 mGy is 0.17 mg/ml (DLCT), 0.30 mg/ml (KVSCT) and 0.77mg/ml (DSCT).

Conclusion

Noticeable performance differences are observed between investigated DECT systems. Iodine concentrations and VMI HUs are accurately determined across all DECT systems. KVSCT and DLCT deliver slightly more accurate iodine concentration values than DSCT for investigated scenarios. In DLCT, low-noise and high-image contrast at low VMI levels may help to increase diagnostic information in abdominal CT.

Key Points

• Current dual-energy CT platforms provide accurate, reliable quantitative information.
• Dual-energy CT cross-platform evaluation revealed noticeable performance differences between different systems.
• Dual-layer CT offers constant noise levels over the complete energy range.
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Metadata
Title
Dual-energy CT: a phantom comparison of different platforms for abdominal imaging
Authors
Thorsten Sellerer
Peter B. Noël
Manuel Patino
Anushri Parakh
Sebastian Ehn
Sascha Zeiter
Jasmin A. Holz
Johannes Hammel
Alexander A. Fingerle
Franz Pfeiffer
David Maintz
Ernst J. Rummeny
Daniela Muenzel
Dushyant V. Sahani
Publication date
01-07-2018
Publisher
Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Published in
European Radiology / Issue 7/2018
Print ISSN: 0938-7994
Electronic ISSN: 1432-1084
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00330-017-5238-5

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