scholarly journals Dual-Energy Computed Tomography Imaging in Early-Stage Hepatocellular Carcinoma: A Preliminary Study

2022 ◽  
Vol 2022 ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Jinping Li ◽  
Sheng Zhao ◽  
Zaisheng Ling ◽  
Daqing Li ◽  
Guangsheng Jia ◽  
...  

Background. This study aims to evaluate the application of dual-energy computed tomography (DECT) for multiparameter quantitative measurement in early-stage hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Methods. The study retrospectively enrolled 30 patients with early-stage HCC and 43 patients with early-stage HCC who received radiofrequency ablation (RFA) and underwent abdomen enhanced CT scans in GSI mode. The GSI viewer was used for image display and data analysis. The regions of interest (ROIs) were delineated in the arterial phase and the venous phase. The optimal single energy value, CT values on different energy levels (40 keV, 70 keV, 100 keV, and 140 keV), the optimal energy level, the slope of the spectral attenuation curve, the effective atomic number (Zeff), iodine concentration (IC), water concentration (WC), normalized iodine concentration (NIC), and normalized water concentration (NWC) are measured and quantitatively analyzed. Results. The CT values of early-stage HCC at different single energy levels in dual phases were significantly different, and the single energy values were negatively correlated with the CT values. In the arterial phase and the venous phase, the optimal energy values for the best contrast-to-noise ratio were (68.34 ± 3.20) keV and (70.14 ± 2.01) keV, respectively. The slope of the spectral attenuation curve showed a downward trend at 40 keV, 70 keV, 100 keV, and 140 keV, but there was no statistically significant difference P > 0.05 . Zeff was positively correlated with IC and standardized IC, but has no significant correlation with WC and NWC in dual phases. Conclusion. DECT imaging contains multiparameter information and has different application values for early-stage HCC, and it is necessary to select the parameters reasonably for personalized and comprehensive evaluation.

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (8) ◽  
pp. 2514
Author(s):  
Arkadiusz Zegadło ◽  
Magdalena Żabicka ◽  
Marta Kania-Pudło ◽  
Artur Maliborski ◽  
Aleksandra Różyk ◽  
...  

With lung cancer being the most common malignancy diagnosed worldwide, lung nodule assessment has proved to be one of big challenges of modern medicine. The aim of this study was to examine the usefulness of Dual Energy Computed Tomography (DECT) in solitary pulmonary nodule (SPN) assessment. Between January 2017 and June 2018; 65 patients (42 males and 23 females) underwent DECT scans in the late arterial phase (AP) and venous phase (VP). We concluded that imaging at an energy level of 65 keV was the most accurate in detecting malignancy in solitary pulmonary nodules (SPNs) measuring ≤30 mm in diameter on virtual monochromatic maps. Both virtual monochromatic images and iodine concentration maps prove to be highly useful in differentiating benign and malignant pulmonary nodules. As for iodine concentration maps, the analysis of venous phase images resulted in the highest clinical usefulness. To summarize, DECT may be a useful tool in the differentiation of benign and malignant SPNs. A single-phase DECT examination with scans acquired 90 s after contrast media injection is recommended.


Diagnostics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 161
Author(s):  
Masakatsu Tsurusaki ◽  
Keitaro Sofue ◽  
Masatoshi Hori ◽  
Kosuke Sasaki ◽  
Kazunari Ishii ◽  
...  

Dual-energy computed tomography (DECT) is an imaging technique based on data acquisition at two different energy settings. Recent advances in CT have allowed data acquisitions and simultaneous analyses of X-rays at two energy levels, and have resulted in novel developments in the field of abdominal imaging. The use of low and high X-ray tube voltages in DECT provide fused images that improve the detection of liver tumors owing to the higher contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) of the tumor compared with the liver. The use of contrast agents in CT scanning improves image quality by enhancing the CNR and signal-to-noise ratio while reducing beam-hardening artifacts. DECT can improve detection and characterization of hepatic abnormalities, including mass lesions. The technique can also be used for the diagnosis of steatosis and iron overload. This article reviews and illustrates the different applications of DECT in liver imaging.


2017 ◽  
Vol 44 (12) ◽  
pp. e326-e327 ◽  
Author(s):  
Akihiko Asahina ◽  
Takeshi Fukuda ◽  
Yozo Ishiuji ◽  
Aya Yaginuma ◽  
Koichi Yanaba ◽  
...  

1988 ◽  
Vol 32 ◽  
pp. 629-640
Author(s):  
W. A. Ellingson ◽  
M. W. Vannier

AbstractAdvanced structural ceramics (Si3N4, SiC, A12O3, ZrO2) are rapidly being developed with sufficient fracture toughness to be considered for engineering applications such as internal combustion engine components, rotating turbine engine components, and heat recovery systems. X-ray computed tomography (CT) is a promising nondestructive evaluation method for these ceramics, but beam hardening presents a serious problem in the interpretation of CT images generated with polychromatic X-ray sources by creating artifacts . Dual-energy X-ray techniques have the potential to eliminate these problems. In addition, in theory, dual energy allows generation of quasimonochromatic equivalent images, which should allow verification of theoretically determined optimum energies. In using dual-energy methods, the high-and low-energy images are nonlinearly transformed to generate two energy-independent images characterizing the integrated Compton/photoelectric attenuation components. Characteristic linear combinations of these two "basis" images can serve to identify unknown materials and generate synthesized monoenergetic images.The dual-energy method has been used to study structural ceramics as well as liquids that are close to ceramic materials in atomic number and mass density. The work was done on a Siemens DR-H CT machine with 85- and 125-kVp energy levels. Test samples included Si3N4 cylinders ranging from 10 to 50 mm in diameter, liquid Freon TF, and densified SiC.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hayato Tomita ◽  
Hirofumi Kuno ◽  
Kotaro Sekiya ◽  
Katharina Otani ◽  
Osamu Sakai ◽  
...  

Background and Objectives. Thyroid nodules are increasingly being detected during cross-sectional imaging of the neck and chest. The purpose of this study is to investigate the efficacy of dual-energy computed tomography (DECT) using iodine concentration measurement and multiparametric texture analysis of monochromatic images for differentiating between benign and malignant thyroid nodules. Materials and Methods. This retrospective study included 34 consecutive patients who presented with thyroid nodules and underwent noncontrast DECT between 2015 and 2016. Manual segmentation of each thyroid nodule by monochromatic imaging (40, 60, and 80 keV) was performed, and an in-house developed MATLAB-based texture analysis program was used to extract 41 textures. Iodine material decomposition and CT attenuation slopes were also measured. Histopathologic findings of ultrasound-guided biopsies over a follow-up period of at least one year were used as reference standards. Basic descriptive statistics and areas under receiver operating characteristic curves (AUCs) were evaluated. Results. The 34 nodules comprised 14 benign nodules and 20 malignant nodules. Iodine content and Hounsfield unit curve slopes did not differ significantly between benign and malignant thyroid nodules (P=0.480–0.670). However, significant differences in the texture features of monochromatic images were observed between benign and malignant nodules: histogram mean and median, co-occurrence matrix contrast, gray-level gradient matrix (GLGM) skewness, and mean gradients and variance of gradients for GLGM at 80 keV (P=0.014–0.044). The highest AUC was 0.77, for the histogram mean and median of images acquired at 80 keV. Conclusions. Texture features extracted from monochromatic images using DECT, specifically acquired at high keV, may be a promising diagnostic approach for thyroid nodules. A further large study for incidental thyroid nodules using DECT texture analysis is required to validate our results.


2020 ◽  
Vol 100 (6) ◽  
pp. 335-338
Author(s):  
A. S. Chaban ◽  
V. E. Sinitsyn

Objective: to study the capabilities of single-source dual-energy computed tomography (DECT) in quantifying the concentration of iodine in solutions.Material and methods. Single-source DECT was performed using a phantom containing a set of 5 tubes with a different titer of the iodine-containing contrast agent Iopamidol. Further, the obtained images were used to construct iodine maps; and the concentration of iodine was measured within the volume of the titrated contrast agent.Results. Despite a high correlation between the measured iodine concentration in solution with the true concentration (Pearson's correlation coefficient r = 0.98; p < 0.01), there is a measurement error that was 4.8 to 23% at different dilutions.Conclusion. Signal-source rapid voltage switching DECT does not allow precise measurements of the true concentration of iodine in solution. To eliminate measurement errors in further in vivo studies using singlesource DECT, it may be that attention must be paid to the measurement of normalized iodine concentration. 


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yanchun Lv ◽  
Jian Zhou ◽  
Xiaofei Lv ◽  
Li Tian ◽  
Haoqiang He ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: Differentiating glioma recurrence from treatment-related changes can be challenging on conventional imaging. We evaluated the use of dual-energy spectral computed tomographic (CT) quantitative parameters for this differentiation. Methods: Twenty-eight patients were examined by dual-energy spectral imaging CT. The slope of the spectral Hounsfield unit curve (λ HU ), effective atomic number (Z eff ), normalized effective atomic number (Z eff-N ), iodine concentration (IC), and normalized iodine concentration (IC N ) in the post-treatment enhanced areas were calculated. Pathological results or clinicoradiologic follow-up of ≥2 months were used for final diagnosis. Nonparametric and t -tests were used to compare quantitative parameters between glioma recurrence and treatment-related changes. Positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV), and accuracy were calculated; sensitivity and specificity were calculated using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. ROC curves were generated using predictive probabilities to evaluate the diagnostic value. Results: There were no significant differences in quantitative parameters based on examination of pre-contrast λ HU , Z eff , Z eff-N , IC, IC N and venous phase IC N ( P >0.05). Venous phase λ HU , Z eff , Z eff-N , and IC in glioma recurrence were higher than in treatment-related changes ( P <0.001). The optimal venous phase threshold was 1.03, 7.75, 1.04, and 2.85 mg/cm 3 , achieving 66.7%, 91.7%, 83.3%, and 91.7% sensitivity; 100.0%, 77.8%, 88.9%, and 77.8% specificity; 100.0%, 73.3%, 83.3%, and 73.3% PPV; 81.8%, 93.3%, 88.9%, and 93.3% NPV; and 86.7%, 83.3%, 86.7%, and 83.3% accuracy, respectively. The areas under the curve (AUC) were 0.912, 0.912, 0.931, and 0.910 in glioma recurrence and treatment-related changes, respectively. Conclusions: Dual-energy spectral CT imaging may provide quantitative values to aid in differentiation of glioma recurrence from treatment-related changes.


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