Multi-energy computed tomography and material quantification: Current barriers and opportunities for advancement

Area of Science:

• Medical Imaging
• Radiology
• Quantitative Imaging

Background:

• Computed tomography (CT) is a crucial diagnostic tool with increasing utilization.
• Advancements in CT have historically prioritized visual sensitivity and dose reduction over quantitative accuracy.
• Limitations in conventional CT have hindered the development of robust quantitative imaging techniques.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review advancements in quantitative computed tomography (QCT).
• To highlight the potential of multi-energy CT applications, including dual-energy CT (DECT) and photon-counting detector CT (PCD-CT), for improved quantitation.
• To address the unmet need for enhanced quantitative imaging in disease characterization, biomarker discovery, and therapeutic response assessment.

Main Methods:

• Review of existing literature on quantitative CT applications.
• Emphasis on multi-energy CT techniques (DECT and PCD-CT).
• Discussion of quantitative metrics in various clinical applications.

Main Results:

• DECT and PCD-CT offer significant opportunities for improving quantitative imaging.
• Quantitative metrics derived from conventional and DECT are valuable for bone mineral density measurement, renal lesion evaluation, and fatty liver disease diagnosis.
• Progress is being made in quantitative CT volumetry, radiomics, and image-guided interventions.

Conclusions:

• Advanced CT technologies like DECT and PCD-CT are crucial for overcoming limitations in quantitative imaging.
• Improved quantitative CT enhances disease characterization, biomarker identification, and treatment monitoring.
• Future developments in quantitative CT hold promise for novel contrast agents and image-guided procedures.