Reduction of motion artefacts in non-gated dual-energy radiography

The objective of this work was to reduce motion artefacts in non-gated dual-energy subtraction radiography whilst preserving the contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) in regions with low motion. Dual-energy radiography provides material-selective information (soft-tissue and bone images) that may be used for improved detection of calcifications in lung nodules. The weighted logarithmic dual-energy subtraction of thoracic images performed without electrocardiogram gating results in motion-induced artefacts. The low-energy image was acquired at the usual dose setting at 60 kV. To obtain the high-energy (120 kV) information, a series of consecutive images at a time interval of 30 ms were made. The series integral dose was equivalent to the dose of a single conventional high-energy image. A motion-free merging technique was introduced that combines standard images yielding low image noise with phase-selective images yielding motion artefact-free image regions which are used for dual-energy subtraction. Evaluations of the method were performed with simulations and measurements using a C-arm system (Axiom Artis; Siemens AG, Germany) equipped with a flat detector of 40 x 30 cm(2). The merging approach conserved standard image noise levels and the CNR in areas without cardiac motion, whereas image noise in pericardial lung regions and in the heart was increased compared with standard images. Motion artefacts in the heart and in the lung areas close to the heart are significantly reduced in the material-selective images when compared with a standard non-gated subtraction.