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Nestler T, Stoll R, Schmelz H, Schoch J, Hesse A, Nestler K, Smolka K, Faby S, Jürgens M, Schmidt B, Spornitz K, Overhoff D, Waldeck S. Comparison of automated kidney stone size measurement and volumetry in photon counting CT compared to 3rd generation dual energy CT and physically measurements - an ex vivo study. World J Urol 2024; 42:433. [PMID: 39037610 DOI: 10.1007/s00345-024-05114-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2024] [Accepted: 06/05/2024] [Indexed: 07/23/2024] Open
Abstract
PURPOSE This ex vivo study aimed to compare a newly developed dual-source photon-counting CT (PCCT) with a 3rd generation dual-source dual-energy CT (DECT) for the detection and measurement (stone lengths and volumetrics) of urinary stones. METHODS 143 urinary stones with a known geometry were physically measured and defined as reference values. Next, urinary stones were placed in an anthropomorphic abdomen-model and were scanned with DECT and PCCT. Images were read by two experienced examiners and automatically evaluated using a specific software. RESULTS DECT and PCCT showed a high sensitivity for manual stone detection of 97.9% and 94.4%, and for automatic detection of 93.0% and 87.4%, respectively. Compared to that uric acid and xanthine stones were recognized slightly worse by DECT and PCCT with manual stone detection (93.3% and 82.2%), and with automatic detection (77.8% and 60.0%). All other stone entities were completely recognized. By comparing the maximum diameter of the reference value and DECT, Pearson-correlation was 0.96 (p < 0.001) for manual and 0.97 (p < 0.001) for automatic measurement, and for PCCT it was 0.94 (p < 0.001) for manual and 0.97 (p < 0.001) for automatic measurements. DECT and PCCT can also reliably determine volume manually and automatically with a Pearson-correlation of 0.99 (p < 0.001), respectively. CONCLUSION Both CTs showed comparable results in stone detection, length measurement and volumetry compared to the reference values. Automatic measurement tends to underestimate the maximum diameter. DECT proved to be slightly superior in the recognition of xanthine and uric acid stones.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tim Nestler
- Department of Urology, Federal Armed Services Hospital Koblenz, Ruebenacherstr. 170, Koblenz, 56072, Germany.
- Department of Urology, University Hospital Cologne, Cologne, Germany.
| | - Rico Stoll
- Department of Urology, Federal Armed Services Hospital Koblenz, Ruebenacherstr. 170, Koblenz, 56072, Germany
| | - Hans Schmelz
- Department of Urology, Federal Armed Services Hospital Koblenz, Ruebenacherstr. 170, Koblenz, 56072, Germany
| | - Justine Schoch
- Department of Urology, Federal Armed Services Hospital Koblenz, Ruebenacherstr. 170, Koblenz, 56072, Germany
| | - Albrecht Hesse
- Department of Urology, Urinary Stone Analysis Centre Bonn, Bonn, Germany
| | - Kai Nestler
- Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Federal Armed Services Hospital Koblenz, Koblenz, Germany
| | - Kerstin Smolka
- Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Federal Armed Services Hospital Koblenz, Koblenz, Germany
| | - Sebastian Faby
- Department of Computed Tomography, Siemens Healthcare GmbH, Forchheim, Germany
| | - Markus Jürgens
- Department of Computed Tomography, Siemens Healthcare GmbH, Forchheim, Germany
| | - Bernhard Schmidt
- Department of Computed Tomography, Siemens Healthcare GmbH, Forchheim, Germany
| | - Katja Spornitz
- Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Federal Armed Services Hospital Koblenz, Koblenz, Germany
| | - Daniel Overhoff
- Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Federal Armed Services Hospital Koblenz, Koblenz, Germany
- Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, University Medical Center Mannheim, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Stephan Waldeck
- Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Federal Armed Services Hospital Koblenz, Koblenz, Germany
- Institute of Neuroradiology, University Medical Centre Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Mainz, Germany
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Woeltjen MM, Niehoff JH, Roggel R, Michael AE, Gerdes B, Surov A, Borggrefe J, Kroeger JR. Pancreatic cancer in photon-counting CT: Low keV virtual monoenergetic images improve tumor conspicuity. Eur J Radiol 2024; 173:111374. [PMID: 38422607 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejrad.2024.111374] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/13/2023] [Revised: 02/07/2024] [Accepted: 02/14/2024] [Indexed: 03/02/2024]
Abstract
PURPOSE OF THE STUDY The aim of the study was to identify differences in the tumor conspicuity of pancreatic adenocarcinomas in different monoenergetic or polyenergetic reconstructions and contrast phases in photon-counting CT (PCCT). MATERIAL AND METHODS 34 patients were retrospectively enrolled in this study. Quantitative image analysis was performed with region of interest (ROI) measurements in different monoenergetic levels ranging from 40 up to 70 keV (5-point steps) and polyenergetic series. Tumor-parenchyma attenuation differences and contrast-to-noise-ratio (CNR) were calculated. A qualitative image analysis was accomplished by 4 radiologists using a 5-point Likert scale (1 = "not recognizable" up to 5 = "easy recognizable"). Differences between groups were evaluated for statistical significance using the Friedman test and in case of significant differences pair-wise post-hoc testing with Bonferroni correction was applied. RESULTS Tumor-parenchyma attenuation difference was significantly different between the different image reconstructions for both arterial- and portal-venous-phase-images (p < 0.001). Tumor-parenchyma attenuation difference was significantly higher on arterial-phase-images at mono40keV compared to polyenergetic images (p < 0.001) and mono55keV images or higher (p < 0.001). For portal-venous-phase-images tumor-parenchyma attenuation difference was significantly higher on mono40keV images compared to polyenergetic images (p < 0.001) and mono50keV images (p = 0.03) or higher (p < 0.001). The same trend was seen for CNR. Tumor conspicuity was rated best on mono40keV images with 4.3 ± 0.9 for arterial-phase-images and 4.3 ± 1.1 for portal-venous-phase-images. In contrast, overall image quality was rated best on polyenergetic-images with 4.8 ± 0.5 for arterial-phase-images and 4.7 ± 0.6 for portal-venous-phase-images. CONCLUSION Low keV virtual monoenergetic images significantly improve the tumor conspicuity of pancreatic adenocarcinomas in PCCT based on quantitative and qualitative results. On the other hand, readers prefer polyenergetic images for overall image quality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthias Michael Woeltjen
- Department of Radiology, Neuroradiology and Nuclear Medicine, Johannes Wesling University Hospital, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany.
| | - Julius Henning Niehoff
- Department of Radiology, Neuroradiology and Nuclear Medicine, Johannes Wesling University Hospital, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
| | - Ruth Roggel
- Department of Radiology, Neuroradiology and Nuclear Medicine, Johannes Wesling University Hospital, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
| | - Arwed Elias Michael
- Department of Radiology, Neuroradiology and Nuclear Medicine, Johannes Wesling University Hospital, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
| | - Berthold Gerdes
- Department of General-, Visceral-, Thoracic- and Endocrine Surgery, Johannes Wesling University Hospital, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
| | - Alexey Surov
- Department of Radiology, Neuroradiology and Nuclear Medicine, Johannes Wesling University Hospital, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
| | - Jan Borggrefe
- Department of Radiology, Neuroradiology and Nuclear Medicine, Johannes Wesling University Hospital, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
| | - Jan Robert Kroeger
- Department of Radiology, Neuroradiology and Nuclear Medicine, Johannes Wesling University Hospital, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
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Hollý S, Chmelík M, Suchá S, Suchý T, Beneš J, Pátrovič L, Juskanič D. Photon-counting CT using multi-material decomposition algorithm enables fat quantification in the presence of iron deposits. Phys Med 2024; 118:103210. [PMID: 38219560 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejmp.2024.103210] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2023] [Revised: 11/29/2023] [Accepted: 01/04/2024] [Indexed: 01/16/2024] Open
Abstract
PURPOSE A new generation of CT detectors were recently developed with the ability to measure individual photon's energy and thus provide spectral information. The aim of this work was to assess the performance of simultaneous fat and iron quantification using a clinical photon-counting CT (PCCT) and its comparison to dual-energy CT (DECT), MRS and MRI at 3 T. METHODS Two 3D printed cylindrical phantoms with 32 samples (n = 12 fat fractions between 0 % and 100 %, n = 20 with mixtures of fat and iron) were scanned with PCCT and DECT scanners for comparison. A three-material decomposition approach was used to estimate the volume fractions of fat (FF), iron and soft tissue. The same phantoms were examined by MRI (6-echo DIXON, a.k.a. Q-DIXON) and MRS (multi-echo STEAM, a.k.a. HISTO) at 3 T for comparison. RESULTS PCCT, DECT, MRI and MRS computed FFs showed correlation with reference fat fraction values in samples with no iron (r > 0.98). PCCT decomposition showed slightly weaker correlation with FFref in samples with added iron (r = 0.586) compared to MRI (r = 0.673) and MRS (r = 0.716) methods. On the other hand, it showed no systematic over- or underestimation. Surprisingly, DECT decomposition-derived FF showed strongest correlation (r = 0.758) in these samples, however systematic overestimation was observed. FF values computed by three-material PCCT decomposition, DECT decomposition, MRI and MRS were unaffected by iron concentration. CONCLUSIONS This in-vitro study shows for the first time that photon-counting computed tomography may be used for quantification of fat content in the presence of iron deposits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samuel Hollý
- JESSENIUS - diagnostic center, Nitra, Slovakia; Institute of Biophysics and Informatics, First Faculty of Medicine Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Marek Chmelík
- JESSENIUS - diagnostic center, Nitra, Slovakia; Department of Technical Disciplines in Health Care, Faculty of Health Care, University of Prešov, Slovakia.
| | - Slavomíra Suchá
- Department of Technical Disciplines in Health Care, Faculty of Health Care, University of Prešov, Slovakia
| | - Tomáš Suchý
- Department of Technical Disciplines in Health Care, Faculty of Health Care, University of Prešov, Slovakia
| | - Jiři Beneš
- Department of Radiology, First Faculty of Medicine, Charles University and General University Hospital in Prague, Prague, Czech Republic
| | | | - Dominik Juskanič
- JESSENIUS - diagnostic center, Nitra, Slovakia; Medical Faculty, Commenius University in Bratislava, Slovakia
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Wu Y, Ye Z, Chen J, Deng L, Song B. Photon Counting CT: Technical Principles, Clinical Applications, and Future Prospects. Acad Radiol 2023; 30:2362-2382. [PMID: 37369618 DOI: 10.1016/j.acra.2023.05.029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2023] [Revised: 05/27/2023] [Accepted: 05/28/2023] [Indexed: 06/29/2023]
Abstract
Photon-counting computed tomography (PCCT) is a new technique that utilizes photon-counting detectors to convert individual X-ray photons directly into an electrical signal, which can achieve higher spatial resolution, improved iodine signal, radiation dose reduction, artifact reduction, and multienergy imaging. This review introduces the technical principles of PCCT, and summarizes its first-in-human experience and current applications in clinical settings, and discusses the future prospects of PCCT.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yingyi Wu
- Department of Radiology, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, No. 37 Guoxue Alley, Chengdu 610041, China (Y.Y.W., Z.Y., J.C., L.P.D., B.S.)
| | - Zheng Ye
- Department of Radiology, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, No. 37 Guoxue Alley, Chengdu 610041, China (Y.Y.W., Z.Y., J.C., L.P.D., B.S.)
| | - Jie Chen
- Department of Radiology, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, No. 37 Guoxue Alley, Chengdu 610041, China (Y.Y.W., Z.Y., J.C., L.P.D., B.S.)
| | - Liping Deng
- Department of Radiology, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, No. 37 Guoxue Alley, Chengdu 610041, China (Y.Y.W., Z.Y., J.C., L.P.D., B.S.)
| | - Bin Song
- Department of Radiology, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, No. 37 Guoxue Alley, Chengdu 610041, China (Y.Y.W., Z.Y., J.C., L.P.D., B.S.); Department of Radiology, Sanya People' s Hospital, Sanya, Hainan, China (B.S.).
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