Clinical feasibility test of 60 kVp double-low-dose coronary CT angiography with a deep learning reconstruction...

To test the feasibility of 60 kVp double-low-dose coronary CT angiography (CCTA) with a deep learning reconstruction (DLR) algorithm.

Eighty-nine patients (44 females, 59.9 ± 13.2 years, 23.1 ± 3.3 kg/m²) with known or suspected coronary artery disease were prospectively enrolled. Each patient underwent the double-low-dose CCTA (60-kVp, 28 mL contrast at 2.5 mL/s) and was immediately followed by routine-dose CCTA (100-kVp, 44 mL contrast at 4.0 mL/s). Routine-dose data were reconstructed using hybrid iterative reconstruction (RD-HIR), and double-low-dose data were reconstructed using both HIR (LD-HIR) and DLR (LD-DLR). The consistency of both coronary stenosis assessments and CT-derived fractional flow reserve (CT-FFR) values between low-dose and routine-dose images was quantified using receiver operating characteristic analysis at various levels. Segment-level image quality scores (IQS), signal-noise-ratio (SNR), and contrast-noise-ratio (CNR) were compared among three groups.

Double-low-dose CCTA achieved a significant reduction in both radiation dose (0.60 ± 0.12 mSv vs 4.43 ± 1.42 mSv) and contrast volume compared to routine-dose CCTA. For the per-segment level, LD-DLR showed significantly higher specificity (0.99 vs 0.94), positive predictive value (0.91 vs 0.68), and accuracy (0.98 vs 0.94) for ≥ 50% coronary stenosis compared to LD-HIR. The area under the curve of LD-DLR was significantly higher than LD-HIR for ≥ 50% stenosis at per-segment (0.94 vs 0.92), per-vessel (0.92 vs 0.89), and per-patient (0.92 vs 0.85) levels; and for CT-FFR ≤ 0.80 at per-vessel (0.94 vs 0.74), LAD-vessel (0.94 vs 0.71), and LCX-vessel (0.99 vs 0.67) levels. The IQS, SNR, and CNR of LD-DLR were not inferior to those of RD-HIR in all segments.

The 60 kVp double-low-dose CCTA with DLR can significantly reduce radiation dose and simultaneously maintain the high consistency of coronary stenosis and CT-FFR assessments with routine-dose CCTA.

The 60 kVp double-low-dose CCTA protocol is feasible with a novel DLR algorithm without compromising the performance of coronary stenosis and CT-FFR assessments.

Is a 60 kVp double-low-dose CCTA protocol with a DLR algorithm feasible for routine clinical application? The 60 kVp CCTA protocol with the DLR algorithm reduced radiation dose by 86.5% and contrast dose by 36.4%. The 60 kVp CCTA with DLR achieved high consistency of coronary stenosis and CT-FFR values with the routine-dose 100 kVp CCTA.