CT angiography of the head-and-neck vessels acquired with low tube voltage, low iodine, and iterative image reconstruction: clinical evaluation of radiation dose and image quality

• Published in: PloS one 2013-12, Vol.8 (12), p.e81486-e81486
• Main Authors: Zhang, Wei-lan, Li, Min, Zhang, Bo, Geng, Hai-yang, Liang, Yin-qiang, Xu, Ke, Li, Song-bai
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Abdomen; Adult; Aged; Algorithms; Angiography; Angiography - methods; Blood vessels; Computed tomography; Contrast agents; Contrast Media; Diagnostic systems; Electric potential; Feasibility Studies; Female; Head; Head - blood supply; Hospitals; Humans; Image acquisition; Image processing; Image Processing, Computer-Assisted - methods; Image quality; Image reconstruction; Iodine; Ionizing radiation; Iterative methods; Male; Medical imaging; Middle Aged; Neck; Neck - blood supply; Noise; Patients; Pediatrics; Quality; Quality Control; Radiation; Radiation Dosage; Radiology; Studies; Tomography; Tomography - methods; Voltage
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0081486

We aimed to assess the effectiveness and feasibility of head-and-neck Computed Tomography Angiography (CTA) with low tube voltage and low concentration contrast media combined with iterative reconstruction algorithm. 92 patients were randomly divided into group A and B: patients in group A received a conventional scan with 120 kVp and contrast media of 320 mgI/ml. Patients in group B, 80 kVp and contrast media of 270 mgI/ml were used along with iterative reconstruction algorithm techniques. Image quality, radiation dose and the effectively consumed iodine amount between two groups were analyzed and compared. Image quality of CTA of head-and-neck vessels obtained from patients in group B was significantly improved quantitatively and qualitatively. In addition, CT attenuation values in group B were also significantly higher than that in group A (p