Optimization of dual-energy subtraction for preclinical studies using a commercial MicroCT unit

Dual-energy (DE) for quantitative material discrimination has emerged as a promising application of microCT to increase contrast discrimination in preclinical studies. Here we present a protocol designed to optimize DE image subtraction for contrast enhanced studies in rodents, employing iodine-base...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Castillo, Jorge P., Corona-Nieblas, Leopoldo, Berumen, Francisco, Ayala-Domínguez, Lízbeth, Medina, Luis A., Brandan, María-Ester
Format: Conference Proceeding
Language:English
Subjects:
Affine transformations
Continuous flow
Deformation
Discrimination
Equivalence
Image acquisition
Image contrast
Image enhancement
Image reconstruction
Image registration
Iodine
Linear transformations
Linearity
Rodents
Subtraction
Visualization
Weight
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Summary:Dual-energy (DE) for quantitative material discrimination has emerged as a promising application of microCT to increase contrast discrimination in preclinical studies. Here we present a protocol designed to optimize DE image subtraction for contrast enhanced studies in rodents, employing iodine-based contrast medium (CM). Our investigation used an Albira ARS commercial unit, not specifically designed for quantitative CT tasks. DE subtraction was divided into stages that were independently analyzed: acquisition, volume reconstruction, image registration and image weighting. The DE radiological techniques (low- and high- energy) had been previously optimized to enhance the visualization of iodine-based CM. An independent reconstruction was needed to guarantee linearity between iodine intensity and its concentration for high energy acquisition; it also reduced structured noise occasionally produced by the microCT reconstruction software over uniform regions and improved bone visualization. Image registration was optimized combining an affine transformation with a non-linear transformation determined with the Free-Form Deformation algorithm. Two subtraction weight factors were determined: one that maximized the contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) of iodine mixed with soft-tissue-equivalent resin and another that minimized CNR between bone-like rods and soft-tissue-equivalent material. A pilot test of the optimized protocol was performed on a rat injected with a continuous flow of CM.
ISSN:0094-243X
1551-7616
DOI:10.1063/1.4954125