Identification of Non-Traumatic Bone Marrow Oedema: The Pearls and Pitfalls of Dual-Energy CT (DECT)

Dual-energy computed tomography (DECT) is an imaging technique widely used in traumatic settings to diagnose bone marrow oedema (BME). This paper describes the role of DECT in diagnosing BME in non-traumatic settings by evaluating its reliability in analyzing some of the most common painful syndromes. In particular, with an illustrative approach, the paper describes the possible use of DECT for the evaluation of osteochondral lesions of the knee and of the ankle, avascular necrosis of the hip, non-traumatic stress fractures, and other inflammatory and infectious disorders of the bones.