Precision and reliability of liver iodine quantification from spectral detector CT: evidence from phantom and patient data

Abstract

To comprehensively assess precision, reproducibility, and repeatability of iodine maps from spectral detector CT (SDCT) in a phantom and in patients with repetitive examination of the abdomen. Seventy-seven patients who underwent examination two (n = 52) or three (n = 25) times according to clinical indications were included in this IRB-approved, retrospective study. The anthropomorphic liver phantom and all patients were scanned with a standardized protocol (SSDE in patients 15.8mGy). In patients, i.v. contrast was administered and portal venous images were acquired using bolus-tracking technique. The phantom was scanned three times at three time points; in one acquisition, image reconstruction was repeated three times. Region of interest (ROI) were placed automatically (phantom) or manually (patients) in the liver parenchyma (mimic) and the portal vein; attenuation in conventional images (CI [HU]) and iodine map concentrations (IM [mg/ml]) were recorded. The coefficient of variation (CV [%]) was used to compare between repetitive acquisitions. If present, additional ROI were placed in cysts (n = 29) and hemangioma (n = 29). Differences throughout all phantom examinations were < 2%. In patients, differences between two examinations were higher (CV for CI/IM: portal vein, 2.5%/3.2%; liver parenchyma, -0.5%/-3.0% for CI/IM). In 80% of patients, these differences were within a ± 20% limit. Differences in benign liver lesions were even higher (68% and 38%, for CI and IM, respectively). Iodine maps from SDCT allow for reliable quantification of iodine content in phantoms; while in patients, rather large differences between repetitive examinations are likely due to differences in biological distribution. This underlines the need for careful clinical interpretation and further protocol optimization. • Spectral detector computed tomography allows for reliable quantification of iodine in phantoms. • In patients, the offset between repetitive examinations varies by 20%, likely due to differences in biological distribution. • Clinically, iodine maps should be interpreted with caution and should take the intra-individual variability of iodine distribution over time into account.