Assessing Environmental Sustainability in Dual-Energy CT: Exploring Energy Consumption and Ecological-Economic Impact...

Within global sustainable resource management efforts, reducing healthcare energy consumption is of public concern. This study aims to analyze the energy consumption of three Dual-Energy computed tomography (DECT) scanners and to predict the power consumption based on scan acquisition parameters.

This study consisted of two parts assessing three DECT scanners: one Dual-Source and two Single-Source DECT. In Part A, the energy consumption for various single- and DECT scans with different acquisition parameters using a chest phantom was measured. The measurements were compared to the calculated power consumption. In Part B, the energy consumption baselines during nonutilization states of the DECT devices: idle (ready to scan), low-power (incomplete shutdown), and system-off mode (complete shutdown) were measured. Descriptive statistics were used.

The phantom study revealed a positive correlation between measured and calculated energy consumption (r² =0.82), except for single-source split-filter DECT acquisitions, indicating a relationship between scan parameters and energy consumption. The baseline study results showed a mean energy consumption of 2.6kWh/hour ± 1.34kWh in idle, 0.89kWh/hour ± 0.42kWh in low-power, and < 0.01kWh/hour ± 0.003kWh in the system-off state. The potential total annual CO₂ savings for the assessed DECT scanners amounted to 3767kg CO2 (low power) and 5868kg CO2 (system off) compared to the idle state. Time-related calculations indicated energy savings starting after 5 min in low-power- and after 2 min in the system-off state. Therefore, switching off the scanner, even during shorter periods of non-utilization, can be efficient.

Our results emphasize a positive correlation between scan parameters and energy consumption in DECT. Complete shutdown of DECT devices can have a significant ecological-economic impact.