Visibility of Intracranial Perforating Arteries Using Ultra-High-Resolution Photon-Counting Detector Computed...

Area of Science:

• Medical Imaging
• Radiology
• Neuroimaging

Background:

• Photon-counting detector computed tomography (PCD-CT) provides energy-resolved data, enhancing resolution and contrast.
• PCD-CT offers reduced electronic noise compared to conventional CT.
• This technology enables ultra-high-resolution (UHR) CT angiography (CTA) for detailed anatomical assessment.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the visibility of intracranial perforating arteries using UHR CTA on PCD-CT.
• To compare the image quality of different reconstruction methods for UHR PCD-CTA.
• To assess the impact of reconstruction kernels and quantum iterative reconstruction (QIR) on image quality metrics.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of 30 intracranial UHR PCD-CTA datasets.
• Assessment of four reconstruction methods: kernel Hv40 and Hv72, with and without QIR.
• Subjective evaluation of peripheral visibility, vessel sharpness, and image noise.
• Objective analysis of signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR).

Main Results:

• Lenticulostriate arteries (LSAs) showed good peripheral visualization across all methods.
• Kernel Hv72 resulted in sharper LSAs but increased noise compared to Hv40.
• SNR and CNR were highest with kernel Hv72 and QIR, and lowest with Hv72 without QIR.

Conclusions:

• UHR PCD-CTA effectively visualizes intracranial perforating arteries, especially LSAs.
• Reconstruction method significantly impacts vessel sharpness and image noise.
• Kernel Hv72 combined with QIR offers optimal visualization for UHR PCD-CTA.