Effects of tube potential selection together with computed tomography automatic tube current modulation on CT imaging performance

Abstract

The effects of tube potential selection with a computed tomography (CT) automatic tube current modulation (ATCM) system on radiation dose and image quality have been investigated on a Canon CT scanner. The use of different values of tube voltage for imaging, and the appropriate settings of the ATCM system, were evaluated. The custom-made phantom consisted of three sections of different sizes with inserts of various materials. It was scanned using tube potentials of 80–140 kV and different image quality ATCM settings. CTDIvol and image quality in terms of noise, contrast, and contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) for air, polyethylene (PE), acrylic, polyoxymethylene (POM) and polyvinylchloride (PVC) were analysed. A figure of merit (FOM) was estimated by combining CNR and CTDIvol. CTDIvol values were similar for all values of tube voltage and individual image quality ATCM settings when tube current was not restricted by the maximum value. The contrasts were independent of ATCM image quality setting, but CNR increased at the higher image quality level as image noise decreased. Both contrast and CNR decreased with increasing tube voltage for PVC and PE, but increased for POM and acrylic. PVC was the only insert material for which there was a significant improvement in contrast at lower tube potentials. FOM indicated that standard (SD = 10) and low dose (SD = 12.5) ATCM settings might be appropriate. The optimum tube voltage settings for imaging the PVC was 80−100 kV, but not for the lower contrast POM and acrylic, for which the standard tube voltage setting of 120 kV was better. The tube potential should be carefully set to gain radiological protection optimisation and keep the radiation dose as low as possible. Results indicate that 100 kV is likely to be appropriate for imaging small and medium-sized Thai patients when iodine contrast is used.