Compared to conventional EID-CT, PCCT enabled a reduction in effective dose of around 90%.
PCCT provided noticeably sharper delineation of lung nodules and masses.
Overall image quality and visualization of lung nodules were superior with PCCT compared to standard CT.
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Figure 4. Matched axial CT images of calcified (a, b), solid (c, d), and ground-glass (e, f) lung nodules with diameters of 3–6 mm. In the ULD (a, c, e) and LD (b, d, f) groups, PCCT images (right) exhibited sharper and clearer lung nodules (arrowhead) than EICT images (left). All images were viewed with lung window (level/width: −600/1500 HU). Participant information: a, 19-year-old man; b, 22-year-old man; c, 23-year-old man; d, 24-year-old man; e, 22-year-old woman; f, 12-year-old man.
Source: Zhou et al., Eur J Radiol Open, 2025, CC BY 4.0
Protocol
Scanner | NAEOTOM Alpha |
|---|
Scan area | Thorax |
Scan mode | Quantum |
Scan direction | n.a. |
Tube voltage [kV] | 100 |
Effective mAs [mAs] | 94.5 LD | 55.5 ULD |
IQ level | 16 LD | 10 ULD |
Dose modulation | CARE Dose4D |
CTDIvol [mGy] | 0.78 LD | 0.46 ULD |
DLP [mGy*cm] | 28.6 LD | 16.1 ULD |
Rotation time [s] | 0.25 |
Pitch | 03. Feb |
Matrix | 768 x 768 lung512 x 512 bone |
Slice collimation [mm] | 144 × 0.40 |
Slice width [mm] | 1.0 | 5.0 |
Reconstruction increment [mm] | 0.7 | 5.0 |
Reconstruction kernel | Bl60 lungBr40 boneQIR 4 |
KeV level [keV] | 73 |
Zhou et al. High performance of low- and ultra-low-dose photon-counting CT for lung nodule assessment. European Journal of Radiology Open. 2025.
