Abstract
This main goal of this study was to evaluate image quality in single-energy (SE) and dual-energy (DE) CT imaging with the presence of barium and iodine. A fabricated polymethyl methacrylate abdomen phantom with 32 cm diameter size was used to mimic human abdomen. Two different contrast agents: barium and iodine, were scanned separately. The imaging parameters for SECT were set at tube voltage 80, 120 and 140 kV while the imaging parameters for DECT were set at fixed tube voltage 80/140 kV. Both scan modes were set at the different pitch: 0.6 and 1.0 mm, and the slice thickness was set at 3.0 and 5.0 mm with automatic exposure control for the tube current. The CT images obtained from both scanning were analysed to evaluate the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). Barium and iodine gave highest SNR of 39.30 and 182.68, respectively, at a tube voltage of 140 kV, a pitch of 1 and a slice thickness of 3 mm for SECT. In DECT mode, the highest SNR for barium and iodine were 36.74 and 112.15 respectively at pitch 1 and slice thickness of 3 mm. There was no significant difference between SNR of barium and iodine obtained with both CT imaging modes with p-values of 0.75 and 0.12, respectively.
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The authors would like to acknowledge the financial support from Ministry of Higher Education through Fundamental Research Grant Scheme (FRGS).
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Zukhi, J., Yusob, D., Tajuddin, A.A., Zainon, R. (2018). Image Quality Evaluation in Contrast Agents Computed Tomography Imaging. In: Zainon, R. (eds) 3rd International Conference on Radiation Safety & Security in Healthcare Services. Lecture Notes in Bioengineering. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-7859-0_2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-7859-0_2
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