Lumbar spine CT radiation doses were lowered by 41 percent and still delivered diagnostic quality images.
Radiation dose for lumbar spine CT can be substantially reduced with a new algorithm that takes a patient’s size into consideration, researchers said at this week’s American Roentgen Ray Society Annual Meeting.
Researchers from Seoul, Korea, said they have successfully lowered the dosage needed for lumbar spine CTs by 41 percent, without compromising the diagnostic quality of the images. They used semi-automated attenuation-based tube potential selection, which optimized tube potential at 100 kilovoltage, rather than the standard 120 kilovoltage. However, the resulting decrease of radiation dose from a mean of 21.78 mGy to a mean of 12.77 mGy can increase the image noise, or graininess of the image.
Using scans obtained from 107 patients, the researchers reconstructed the images with either the standard filtered back projection or with iterative reconstruction, which was designed to reduce image noise. The images were then reviewed by two radiologists who concluded, based on noise level, structure visibility, and diagnostic confidence, that both methods of lower kilovoltage images provided images of diagnostic quality.
GE HealthCare Debuts AI-Powered Cardiac CT Device at ACC Conference
April 1st 2025Featuring enhanced low-dose image quality with motion-free images, the Revolution Vibe CT system reportedly facilitates improved diagnostic clarity for patients with conditions ranging from in-stent restenosis to atrial fibrillation.
The Reading Room: Racial and Ethnic Minorities, Cancer Screenings, and COVID-19
November 3rd 2020In this podcast episode, Dr. Shalom Kalnicki, from Montefiore and Albert Einstein College of Medicine, discusses the disparities minority patients face with cancer screenings and what can be done to increase access during the pandemic.
Can Photon-Counting CT be an Alternative to MRI for Assessing Liver Fat Fraction?
March 21st 2025Photon-counting CT fat fraction evaluation offered a maximum sensitivity of 81 percent for detecting steatosis and had a 91 percent ICC agreement with MRI proton density fat fraction assessment, according to new prospective research.