Use of ultra-low dose CT versus standard-dose CT to quantify emphysema.
Ultra-low dose CT (ULDCT) with and without iterative reconstruction (IR) can substitute for standard-low dose (SDCT) when quantifying emphysema, according to a study published in the American Journal of Roentgenology.
Researchers from Japan performed a retrospective study to evaluate the agreement between SDCT and ULDCT findings among 50 patients diagnosed with emphysema, with respect to emphysema quantification. ULDCT images were reconstructed with and without IR. Adaptive iterative dose reduction with 3D processing was used for IR.
All patients underwent SDCT (tube current: 250 mA) and ULDCT (tube current: 10 mA) and ULDCT with IR was used for emphysema quantification. The low-attenuation volume percentage (LAV%) in the lungs at four thresholds (−970, −950, −930, and −910 HU), mean lung attenuation, and total lung volume were computed. Concordance correlation coefficients (CCC) were used to assess the agreement of emphysema quantification between SDCT and ULDCT.
The results showed that the LAV% CCC values were 0.310–0.789 between SDCT and ULDCT without IR and 0.934–0.966 between SDCT and ULDCT with IR. The agreement of LAV% improved when IR was used for ULDCT. The mean lung attenuation CCC value between SDCT and ULDCT without IR was substantial (0.957), whereas that between SDCT and ULDCT with IR was poor (0.890). The total lung volume CCC values were substantial (0.982 with IR, 0.983 without IR).
The researchers concluded that using ULDCT with and without IR can substitute for SDCT in emphysema quantification.
Study with CT Data Suggests Women with PE Have More Than Triple the One-Year Mortality Rate than Men
April 3rd 2025After a multivariable assessment including age and comorbidities, women with pulmonary embolism (PE) had a 48 percent higher risk of one-year mortality than men with PE, according to a new study involving over 33,000 patients.
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.
Predicting Diabetes on CT Scans: What New Research Reveals with Pancreatic Imaging Biomarkers
March 25th 2025Attenuation-based biomarkers on computed tomography (CT) scans demonstrated a 93 percent interclass correlation coefficient (ICC) agreement across three pancreatic segmentation algorithms for predicting diabetes, according to a study involving over 9,700 patients.
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.