Visibility and sharpness of lung structure at 90, 140, and 350 kV

Area of Science:

• Radiology
• Medical Imaging
• Pulmonary Pathology

Background:

• Diagnostic imaging plays a crucial role in identifying pulmonary lesions.
• Kilovoltage (kV) selection influences image quality and lesion detectability in radiography.
• Understanding the impact of different kV settings on lung imaging is essential for accurate diagnosis.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effect of varying kilovoltage (kV) settings on the radiographic visualization of human lung lesions.
• To determine the optimal kV range for detecting small nodules and linear shadows in lung specimens.

Main Methods:

• Human lung specimens with diverse lesions were radiographed using three kilovoltage settings: 90 kV, 140 kV, and 350 kV.
• Image quality and lesion visibility were assessed across the different kV levels.
• Specific attention was paid to the detectability of small nodules (<3 mm) and linear shadows (<0.3 mm).

Main Results:

• Nodules smaller than 3 mm and linear shadows less than 0.3 mm were poorly visualized or not visible at 350 kV.
• Larger lesions were discernible at all kV settings, but interfaces were sharper at 90 kV and 140 kV.
• Image quality was best at 90 kV, followed by 140 kV, with 350 kV yielding the least satisfactory results, despite general visibility of most lung features.

Conclusions:

• Lower kilovoltage settings (90 kV and 140 kV) are superior for detecting small pulmonary nodules and linear shadows.
• High kilovoltage (350 kV) imaging may degrade image quality for subtle lung findings due to factors like focal spot size and photon attenuation.
• Kilovoltage selection is a critical parameter for optimizing lung lesion detection in radiographic imaging.