Kernel and Slice in Ultra-High-Resolution
Photon-Counting Detector CT
Leesburg,
VA, December 8, 2022—An accepted
manuscript published in ARRS’ American
Journal of Roentgenology (AJR)
guides optimization of clinical protocols when implementing
ultra-high-resolution photon-counting detector (UHR PCD) CT of the lungs, providing
insights on the association of reconstruction kernel and slice thickness with image
quality.
Evaluating the impact of kernel and slice
thickness on image quality of UHR PCD CT of the lungs using a 1024x1024 matrix,
“the sharpest evaluated kernel, BI64, was the optimal kernel, consistent with
the current clinical-reference technique,” wrote corresponding author Helmut
Prosch from the department of biomedical imaging and image-guided therapy
at the Medical University of Vienna in Austria.
In this AJR accepted manuscript,
29 patients (17 women, 12 men; median age, 56 years) underwent noncontrast
chest CT using a first-generation PCD scanner (NAEOTOM Alpha, Siemens
Healthineers, Forchheim, Germany) from February 15 to March 15, 2022. All
acquisitions used UHR mode. Nine image sets were reconstructed for all
combinations of three sharp kernels (BI56, BI60, BI64) and three slice
thicknesses (0.2, 0.4, 1.0 mm). Three radiologists independently reviewed
reconstructions for measures of visualization of pulmonary anatomic structures
and pathologies using clinical-reference: BI641.0-mm
Ultimately, when performing
PCD CT of the lungs in UHR mode, reconstruction using BI64 kernel and 0.4-mm
slice thickness was the only assessed reconstruction to yield improved bronchial
division identification and bronchial wall and pulmonary fissure sharpness,
without loss in pulmonary vessel sharpness or conspicuity of nodules or other
pathologies.
In comparison, a
0.2-mm slice thickness—the thinnest reconstruction possible—was “associated
with decreased visualization of various anatomic and pathologic findings,” the authors of this AJR accepted manuscript
added.
An electronic supplement to this AJR
accepted manuscript is available here.
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