Comparison of gastric vascular anatomy by monochromatic and polychromatic dual-energy spectral computed tomography imaging

Abstract

To evaluate the use of monochromatic and polychromatic dual-energy spectral computed tomography (CT) imaging for preoperative assessment of gastric vascular anatomy. Patients with suspected gastric cancer underwent spectral CT to generate conventional 140 kVp polychromatic and monochromatic images with energy levels ranging from 40 to 140 keV during the late arterial and portal venous phases. Optimal monochromatic images were selected according to the contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) for the gastric artery. Image quality was subjectively assessed. Display rates of the arteries were recorded. The study included 64 patients. Monochromatic images at 53 ± 3 keV provided the optimum CNR. At this energy level, subjective image scores were significantly higher for monochromatic images than polychromatic images. There were no significant differences in the display rates of arteries between polychromatic and optimal monochromatic images. Monochromatic images obtained with spectral CT can improve the visualization of gastric arteries.