Basic verification of myocardial extracellular volume quantification by prototype photon-counting detector computed...

Area of Science:

• Medical Imaging
• Radiology
• Cardiovascular Imaging

Background:

• Myocardial extracellular volume (ECV) quantification is vital for assessing cardiac diseases.
• Photon-counting detector (PCD) computed tomography (CT) offers advanced spectral imaging capabilities.
• Understanding the impact of radiation dose and spectral settings on ECV accuracy is essential.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the accuracy of myocardial ECV quantification using a prototype PCD CT.
• To investigate the influence of radiation dose and virtual monoenergetic image (VMI) settings on ECV measurements.
• To determine optimal spectral settings for reliable ECV quantification with PCD CT.

Main Methods:

• A multi-energy CT phantom simulating blood pool and myocardium was utilized.
• Scans were performed with varying tube current-time products (105, 150, 300 mAs) at 120 kVp.
• Virtual monoenergetic images (VMIs) from 50-100 keV were reconstructed to calculate ECV.

Main Results:

• Radiation dose and VMI settings significantly affected ECV quantification accuracy.
• ECV values were overestimated at higher keV levels across all dose settings.
• Higher keV levels showed increased ECV variability, especially at lower radiation doses.

Conclusions:

• Appropriate VMI keV and radiation dose settings are necessary for accurate myocardial ECV quantification with PCD CT.
• The choice of keV impacts both the ECV quantification value and measurement variability.
• Careful optimization of imaging parameters is required to minimize errors in ECV assessment using PCD CT.