Abstract
In 2008 a phantom study indicated that there is a potential for reducing the CT doses when using a new postprocessing filter. The purpose of this study was to test this new postprocessing filter clinically for low‐dose chest CT examinations, to assess whether the diagnostic performance is the same or improved. A standardized clinical chest CT protocol was used on patients with colorectal cancer. Only mA settings changed between patients according to patient size. One standard and one low‐dose chest protocol were performed for all patients. The low‐dose images were postprocessed with a new software filter, which provides context‐controlled restoration of digital images by using adaptive filters. Three radiologists assessed randomly all the images independently. A total of 24 scan series were evaluated with respect to image quality according to quality criteria from the European guidelines for chest CT using a five‐point scale; 576 details were assessed. Overall mean score is the average score for all details rated for all three readers for all full‐dose series, low‐dose series and low‐dose enhanced series, respectively. The statistical methods used for comparison were paired sampled t‐test and intraclass correlation coefficient. The postprocessing filter improved the diagnostic performance compared to the unenhanced low‐dose images. Mean score for full‐dose, low‐dose and low‐dose enhanced series were 3.8, 3.0 and 3.3, respectively. For all patients the full‐dose series gave higher scores than the low‐dose series. Intraclass correlation coefficients were 0.2, 0.1 and 0.3 for the full‐dose, low‐dose and low‐dose enhanced series, respectively. There is a potential for improving diagnostic performance of low‐dose CT chest examinations using this new postprocessing filter.PACS number: 87.57.C‐, 87.57.Q‐
Highlights
Fourteen percent of total worldwide exposure to radiation is from diagnostic X-ray exposure.[1]
A British study indicates that about 0.6% of the cumulative risk of cancer in the UK could be attributable to diagnostic X-ray, equivalent to 700 cases.[1]. In the study, the estimated number of radiation-induced cases of lung cancers per year based on 1998 UK population was 61 for both sexes combined
A phantom study of CT examinations of liver lesions published in 2008, indicated a potential for reducing the doses by 30% and, at the same time, maintaining the diagnostic image quality by using a postp rocessing filter called SharpView CT.[7]. This filter is applied as a postprocessing step between the scanner and the picture archive (PACS) after the image reconstruction on the CT scanner is finished, working on the processed image data not the raw data, from the scanner
Summary
Fourteen percent of total worldwide exposure to radiation is from diagnostic X-ray exposure.[1]. The main goal in optimizing CT examinations is to reduce the radiation and at the same time maintain or even improve diagnostic accuracy. In order to improve diagnostic image quality with respect to noise supression, low-contrast detectability and spatial resolution without, at the same time, increasing the radiation doses from CT examinations, some manufacturers have developed stand-alone postprocessing tools that are compatible with all commercially available CT scanners. A phantom study of CT examinations of liver lesions published in 2008, indicated a potential for reducing the doses by 30% and, at the same time, maintaining the diagnostic image quality by using a postp rocessing filter called SharpView CT.[7] This filter is applied as a postprocessing step between the scanner and the picture archive (PACS) after the image reconstruction on the CT scanner is finished, working on the processed image data not the raw data, from the scanner. The filter is intended for enhancing edges and lines, 2D adaptive noise suppression and artefacts, in addition to spatial consistency
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
