[Value of the dual-energy method in quantitative CT studies of the brain]

Using a dual-energy (DE) method, conventional polyenergetic and monoenergetic beams were used to obtain data in phantom and clinical CT studies and to prove the benefit of this method in quantitative cranial CT. Conventional polyenergetic (85 kVp and 125 kVp) and simulated monoenergetic images were reconstructed from the measurements. The noise in the monoenergetic images was lowest at 72 kVp. The interindividual white-gray differentiation varied less in DE forms than in polyenergetic images, whereas the noise was of the same order of magnitude in both types. As can be derived from our results, DE may be clinically useful in diagnosing abnormal lucency of the white matter in newborn and premature infants.