Screening and comparison of polychromatic and monochromatic image reconstruction of abdominal arterial energy spectrum CT

We screened the suitable image reconstruction to observe the abdominal artery and compare the quality between the polychromatic and the monochromatic reconstruction images of the abdominal artery spectrum CT. Eighty patients underwent Gemstone CT energy spectrum imaging to obtain an abdominal artery polychromatic image (140 kVp) and a monochromatic image from 40 ~ 140 keV. The CT value of region of interest (ROI) was measured on the polychromatic image and the single energy image. The signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) of the abdominal aorta and hepatic artery were determined. The images in each group underwent image quality subjective scoring by three experienced radiologists using a blinded method. Finally, comprehensive comparisons and image quality subjective scorings were performed on the CT, SNR, and CNR values of the abdominal aorta. The obtained data were statistically analyzed by SPSS 19.0 software. When the keV value was reduced, the CT value of the abdominal artery gradually increased, and the image noise also changed. The comprehensive comparisons and subjective scorings were finalized for each single energy image based on the abdominal artery image quality objective indicators (CT value, SNR, and CNR). Results revealed that the abdominal artery image quality in the 50 ~ 60 keV monochromatic group was better compared to the polychromatic group. Furthermore, onochromatic imaging had different impacts on the abdominal aorta and hepatic artery image qualities. In different types of abdominal arterial reconstruction images obtained using abdominal energy spectrum CT conventional enhanced scanning, the image quality of the 50 ~ 60keV monochromatic reconstruction was higher when compared with the polychromatic reconstruction. Thus, it is recommended to apply the conventional reconstruction for abdominal artery energy spectrum CT scanning.