Multi-energy CT with Triple X-ray Beams: A Feasibility Animal Study

Energy-integrating-detector (EID)-based triple-beam multi-energy CT (TB-MECT) was recently implemented on a dual-source (DS) CT platform by mounting a z-axis split-filter (0.05 mm Au, 0.6 mm Sn) on one of the two tubes. The purpose of this work is to perform a feasibility animal study on this new MECT platform for a small bowel imaging task using two contrast agents, iodine and bismuth. Optimal triple-beam configurations, 70/Au140/Sn140 kV were determined in a phantom study for this task and applied in the animal study for best material decomposition imaging performance. The results demonstrated that the TB-MECT can successfully separate and quantify the two contrast agents from one single scan for the task of small bowel imaging.