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Comparison of true unenhanced and virtual unenhanced (VUE) attenuation values in abdominopelvic single-source rapid kilovoltage-switching spectral CT

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Abstract

Objective

To assess the agreement between the true non-contrast (TNC) attenuation values of intra-abdominal structures and attenuation values obtained on virtual-unenhanced (VUE) images based on rapid kVp-switching dual-energy CT. The effects of contrast phase and patient characteristics (e.g., BMI, hematocrit, hemoglobin content) on VUE values were also investigated.

Methods

Ninety four patients who underwent triphasic abdominal CT (liver mass protocol, n = 47; pancreas mass protocol, n = 47) between August 2014 and May 2015 were retrospectively reviewed. Unenhanced series was performed using conventional single-energy mode at 120 kVp. Late arterial and venous phase post-contrast series were obtained utilizing rapid kVp-switching dual-energy CT technique. VUE images were processed off of arterial (VUE-art) and venous (VUE-ven) phase series. Attenuation values of liver, pancreas, kidneys, adrenal glands, muscle, subcutaneous fat, aorta, IVC, and main portal vein were recorded on TNC and VUE sets of images. Attenuation values were compared using univariate linear regression and Student two-tailed paired t test.

Results

There was excellent correlation between TNC, VUE-art, and VUE-ven attenuation values across all organs (p < 0.0001). Paired Student t test, however, showed significant difference between TNC and VUE-art attenuation of kidneys, right adrenal gland, paraspinal muscle, and aorta. There was also significant difference between TNC and VUE-ven attenuation of left kidney. Percentage of cases which had >10 HU difference between VUE and TNC for an individual was calculated which ranged between 13% (right kidney) and 42% (right adrenal gland).

Conclusion

Although the correlation between VUE and TNC attenuation values was excellent and mean difference between TNC and VUE attenuation values was negligible (ranging between −5.94 HU for paraspinal muscles to 6.2 HU in aorta), intra-patient analysis showed a considerable number of cases which had >10 HU difference between VUE and TNC. VUE-ven generally offered a better approximation of TNC values. Further optimization of post-processing algorithms might be necessary before complete replacement of TNC with VUE images.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Abdominal Imaging, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, UPMC Presbyterian, Radiology Suite 200 East Wing, 200 Lothrop Street, Pittsburgh, PA, 15213, USA

    Amir A. Borhani, Alessandro Furlan & Mitchell E. Tublin

  2. Department of Radiology, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, UPMC Presbyterian, 200 Lothrop Street, Pittsburgh, PA, 15213, USA

    Matthew Kulzer, Negaur Iranpour, Anish Ghodadra & Mark Sparrow

Authors
  1. Amir A. Borhani
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  2. Matthew Kulzer
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  3. Negaur Iranpour
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  4. Anish Ghodadra
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  5. Mark Sparrow
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  6. Alessandro Furlan
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  7. Mitchell E. Tublin
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Correspondence to Amir A. Borhani.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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

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Borhani, A.A., Kulzer, M., Iranpour, N. et al. Comparison of true unenhanced and virtual unenhanced (VUE) attenuation values in abdominopelvic single-source rapid kilovoltage-switching spectral CT. Abdom Radiol 42, 710–717 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00261-016-0991-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00261-016-0991-5

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