Journal
ACADEMIC RADIOLOGY
Volume 28, Issue 12, Pages 1754-1760Publisher
ELSEVIER SCIENCE INC
DOI: 10.1016/j.acra.2020.07.033
Keywords
Photon counting; Computed tomography; Low dose; Image quality
Funding
- National Institutes of Health (NIH) Clinical Center Radiology and Imaging Sciences (RADIS)
- National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB), NIH Graduate Partnership Program
- NIH Intramural Research Program [NIH Z01 1ZID BC011242, CL040015]
- Siemens Medical Solutions
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The study showed that PCCT has superior image quality compared to EID CT at low doses, with significant improvements in image noise, contrast-to-noise ratio, and detectability index. Additionally, PCCT demonstrated higher CNR for iodine contrast at all dose levels and iodine concentration levels.
Rationale and Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate the potential of photon-counting CT (PCCT) to improve quantitative image quality for low dose imaging compared to energy-integrating detector CT (EID CT). Materials and Methods: An investigational scanner (Siemens, Germany) with PCCT and EID CT subsystems was used to compare image quality performance at four dose levels: 1.7, 2, 4, 6 mGy CTDIvol, all at or below current dose values used for conventional abdominal CT. A CT quality control phantom with a homogeneous section for noise measurements and a section with cylindrical inserts of air (-910 HU), polystyrene (50 HU), acrylic (205 HU), and Teflon (1000 HU) was imaged and characterized in terms of noise, resolution, contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR), and detectability index. A second phantom with a 30 cm diameter was also imaged containing iodine solutions ranging from 0.125 to 8 mg I/mL. CNR of the iodine vials was computed as a function of CT dose and iodine concentration. Results: With resolution unaffected by dose in both PCCT and EID CT, PCCT images exhibited 22.1-24.0% improvement in noise across dose levels evaluated. This noise improvement translated into a 29-41% improvement in CNR and 20-36% improvement in detectability index. For iodine contrast, PCCT images had a higher CNR for all combinations of iodine contrast and dose evaluated. Conclusion: For the conditions studied, PCCT exhibited superior image quality compared to EID CT. For iodine detection, PCCT offered a notable advantage with improved CNR at all doses and iodine concentration levels.
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