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Benefit of iodine density images to reduce out-of-field image artifacts at rapid kVp switching dual-energy CT

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Abstract

Purpose

To evaluate the reduction of out-of-field artifacts caused by body parts outside the field of view (FOV) at rapid kVp switching dual-energy CT (rsDECT).

Materials and methods

This retrospective study was approved by our institutional review board. Informed consent was not required. We viewed 246 consecutive rsDECT thoracoabdominal scans to identify those with body parts outside the maximal FOV of 50 cm. The maximal length, thickness, and subjective severity of the out-of-field artifacts were recorded for the 40, 65, and 140 keV virtual monochromatic and iodine and water density images. Artifact severity was rated on a 6-point scale from 0 = absent to 5 = obscures intraabdominal/intrathoracic anatomic detail. Artifact thickness and severity scores were compared by t-test and Wilcoxon tests, respectively.

Results

In 20 of 246 scans (8.1%), body parts extended past the maximum FOV of 50 cm. The mean BMI of these 20 patients was 40.2 kg/m2 (range, 26.83–61.69 kg/m2), and out-of-field artifacts occurred for all 20. The mean out-of-field artifact maximal length was 16.6 cm. The mean artifact thickness was significantly less for iodine density (0.6 mm) than for the 65 keV and water density images (8.4 and 13.5 mm, respectively, p < 0.001 each comparison). The mean artifact severity score was lower for iodine density (0.2) than for the 65 keV and water density images (2.5 and 2.6, respectively, p < 0.001 each).

Conclusion

Iodine density images reduce out-of-field image artifact at rsDECT and assists in the evaluation of peripheral tissues that extend beyond the maximal CT FOV.

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Acknowledgement

The contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health or the Swiss National Science Foundation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, University of California San Francisco, M-372, 505 Parnassus Avenue, Box 0628, San Francisco, CA, 94143-0628, USA

    Brandan Dotson, Jack W. Lambert, Zhen J. Wang, Yuxin Sun, Michael A. Ohliger, Sebastian Winklhofer & Benjamin M. Yeh

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  1. Brandan Dotson
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  2. Jack W. Lambert
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  3. Zhen J. Wang
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  4. Yuxin Sun
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  7. Benjamin M. Yeh
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Benjamin M. Yeh.

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Funding

This publication was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health (Grant No. 1R41DK104580) and the Swiss National Science Foundation (Grant No. P2SKP3_151973).

Conflict of interest

Brandan Dotson, Jack W. Lambert PhD, Yuxin Sun MS, and Michael A. Ohliger MD PhD declare that they have no conflict of interest. Zhen J. Wang MD has received grants from the NIH and is a shareholder in Nextrast, Inc. Sebastian Winklhofer MD has received research grants from the Swiss National Science Foundation, Benjamin M. Yeh MD has received research grants from the NIH and General Electric Healthcare, royalties from Oxford University Press, and is a shareholder in Nextrast, Inc.

Ethical approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional review board and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration. This article does not contain any studies with animals performed by any of the authors.

Informed consent

Statement of informed consent was not applicable since the manuscript does not contain any patient data.

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Dotson, B., Lambert, J.W., Wang, Z.J. et al. Benefit of iodine density images to reduce out-of-field image artifacts at rapid kVp switching dual-energy CT. Abdom Radiol 42, 735–741 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00261-016-0978-2

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