Dynamic pulmonary CT perfusion using first-pass analysis technique with only two volume scans: Validation in a swine...

Area of Science:

• Radiology
• Medical Imaging
• Pulmonary Medicine

Background:

• Accurate assessment of pulmonary perfusion is crucial for diagnosing and managing various lung diseases.
• Current dynamic CT perfusion techniques can involve significant radiation doses, limiting their widespread clinical use.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the accuracy of a low-dose first-pass analysis (FPA) CT pulmonary perfusion technique.
• To compare FPA accuracy against fluorescent microsphere measurements as the reference standard.

Main Methods:

• The FPA CT perfusion technique was validated in swine models under varying pulmonary artery occlusion conditions.
• Contrast-enhanced CT images were acquired, and perfusion was calculated using the maximum slope model (MSM) and FPA.
• Both methods were compared to reference fluorescent microsphere measurements.

Main Results:

• FPA demonstrated a strong correlation with the reference standard (r = 0.90) and a lower root-mean-square error (1.72 ml/min/g) compared to MSM (r = 0.64, RMSE = 3.09 ml/min/g).
• The CT dose index for FPA was significantly lower (8.4 mGy) than for MSM (138.7 mGy).

Conclusions:

• The FPA CT technique accurately measures regional pulmonary perfusion.
• FPA offers a promising approach to reduce radiation dose in dynamic CT perfusion imaging for pulmonary disease assessment.