Comparison of the image quality and radiation dose of different scanning modes in head-neck CT angiography

To analyze and compare the radiation dose and image quality of different CT scanning modes on head-neck CT angiography.

A total of 180 patients were divided into Group A and Group B. The groups were further subdivided according to different scanning modes: subgroups A1, A2, A3, B1, B2, and B3. Subgroups A1 and B1 used conventional CT protocol, subgroups A2 and B2 used the kV-Assist scan mode, and subgroups A3 and B3 used the dual-energy gemstone spectral imaging protocol. The CT dose index and dose-length product were recorded. The objective image quality and subjective image evaluation was conducted by two independent radiologists.

The signal-to-noise ratios, contrast-to-noise ratios, and subjective scores of subgroups A3 and B3 were higher than the other subgroups. In subgroups B1 and B2, the subjective scores of 9 patients and 12 patients were lower than 3, respectively. The subjective scores of subgroups B1 and B2 were lower than the other subgroups. There was no statistically significant difference in signal-to-noise ratios, contrast-to-noise ratios, and subjective scores between subgroups A1 and A2. The effective dose of subgroup A2 was 41.7 and 36.4% lower than that in subgroups A1 and A3, respectively (p < 0.05). In Group B, there were no statistically significant differences in CT dose indexvol, dose-length product, and ED among the subgroups (p > 0.05).

In the head-neck CT angiography, the kV-Assist scan mode is recommended for patients with body mass index between 18.5 and 34.9 kg m^-2; gemstone spectral imaging scanning mode is recommended for patients with body mass index ≥34.9 kg m^-2.