Department of Radiology, Children's Hospital Colorado, 13123 E. 16th Ave., Box 125, Aurora, CO 80045, USA.
Department of Radiology, Children's Hospital Colorado, 13123 E. 16th Ave., Box 125, Aurora, CO 80045, USA.
Clin Imaging. 2019 May-Jun;55:83-88. doi: 10.1016/j.clinimag.2019.02.005. Epub 2019 Feb 7.
The aim of this study was to use dual energy CT technology to maintain or improve image quality in pediatric head CT while simultaneously reducing radiation dose.
In this retrospective study, helical head CTs performed using a standard head CT protocol were compared to studies performed with a dual energy (DE) protocol. Objective comparison was performed by measuring regions of interest in 11 areas of the brain. Subjective rating for image quality using a Likert scale, was performed by three radiologists. Radiation doses were evaluated using CT dose index and dose length product.
Signal-to-noise ratio was, for the most part, not significantly different between the DE and conventional scans. Contrast-to-noise ratio was slightly lower for children over 6 year of age utilizing the dual energy protocol versus the standard protocol. Qualitatively, there was little difference in image quality in patients <6 years old, with the only significant difference in infratentorial noise. However, in patients >6 years of age, infratentorial noise, sharpness and diagnostic acceptability, as well as supratentorial sharpness were all significantly improved by DE CT technique. Radiation exposure as measured by CTDI and DLP was modestly lower with the dual energy protocol in all study populations.
Dual energy CT can be used clinically in pediatric patients to maintain or improve image quality while reducing radiation dose.
本研究旨在利用双能 CT 技术在维持或提高儿科头部 CT 图像质量的同时降低辐射剂量。
本回顾性研究比较了采用标准头部 CT 方案进行的螺旋头部 CT 与采用双能（DE）方案进行的研究。通过测量大脑 11 个区域的感兴趣区域进行客观比较。三位放射科医生使用李克特量表对图像质量进行主观评分。使用 CT 剂量指数和剂量长度乘积评估辐射剂量。
在大多数情况下，DE 扫描与常规扫描的信噪比无显著差异。对于 6 岁以上的儿童，与标准方案相比，双能方案的对比噪声比略低。定性而言，<6 岁患者的图像质量差异不大，仅在后颅窝噪声方面存在显著差异。然而，对于>6 岁的患者，DE CT 技术可显著改善后颅窝噪声、锐利度和诊断可接受性以及幕上锐利度。在所有研究人群中，双能方案的 CTDI 和 DLP 测量的辐射暴露均略有降低。
双能 CT 可在儿科患者中临床应用，在维持或提高图像质量的同时降低辐射剂量。
