The study evaluates a low-dose ultra-high-resolution (UHR) PCCT lung protocol in a clinical cohort to determine optimal reconstruction settings for image quality.
It demonstrates that image quality is primarily driven by reconstruction parameters, with a 1024 matrix, 0.4 mm slice thickness, sharp lung kernel (Bl64), and higher QIR levels providing the best balance of noise reduction and structural detail.
The results suggest that even at very low radiation dose levels, optimized reconstruction enables reliable assessment of fine pulmonary structures, supporting its use in ILD imaging.
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Figure 3. Image example showing the delineation of the peripheral pulmonary vessels. The same image detail is shown for the nine reconstructions, with 1.0 mm QIR-3 as the clinical reference. In the 1.0 mm reconstructions, the vessel borders are blurred by the partial volume effect. The 0.2 mm reconstructions are disturbed by the strong noise.
Source: Graafen et al., Diagnostics, 2023. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.
Protocol
Scanner | NAEOTOM Alpha |
|---|
Scan area | Chest |
Scan mode | Quantum HD |
Scan direction | n.a. |
Tube voltage [kV] | 100 |
Effective mAs [mAs] | n.a. |
IQ level | 13 |
Dose modulation | CARE Dose4D |
CTDIvol [mGy] | 0.7 |
DLP [mGy*cm] | n.a. |
Rotation time [s] | 0.25 |
Pitch | 0.8 |
Matrix | 1024 |
Slice collimation [mm] | 120 x 0.2 |
Slice width [mm] | 0.2 / 0.4 / 1.0 |
Reconstruction increment [mm] | 0.15 / 0.3 / 0.8 |
Reconstruction kernel | Bl64 |
KeV level [keV] | n.a. |
Spectral reconstruction | QIR-2 / QIR-3 / QIR-4 |
Graafen D, Halfmann MC, Emrich T, Yang Y, Kreuter M, Düber C, Kloeckner R, Müller L, Jorg T.
Optimization of the Reconstruction Settings for Low-Dose Ultra-High-Resolution Photon-Counting Detector CT of the Lungs.
Diagnostics. 2023;13(23):3522.
