Dual-Energy CT: A New Tool for Radiology in the Algarve Region

• Autor(a) principal: Pinheiro, João Pedro Alexandre
• Data de Publicação: 2024
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: por
• Título da fonte: Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
• Texto Completo: https://doi.org/10.46885/roentgen.v5i1.129
• topic: Dual-energy CT; Spectral CT; Virtual monoenergetic imaging; Effective atomic number; Material decomposition; Photon-counting detector; TC de dupla energia; TC Espectral; Imagem monoenergética virtual; Número atómico efetivo; Decomposição material; Detetor de contagem de fotões

In a region with some of the oldest radiology equipment in the country, imaging professionals should be made aware of the potential clinical benefits of dual-energy Computerized Tomography (DECT) over single-energy CT (SECT). To accomplish this aim, the basic principle, current acquisition methods with advantages and disadvantages, and various material-specific imaging methods as clinical applications of dual-energy CT should be addressed in detail. In a region seriously lacking in an imaging response to its patients, the implementation of a new DECT in the University Hospital of the Algarve brings new possibilities but also new challenges for imaging professionals. Therefore, in this review, we focus on exams performed, the possibilities and advantages of dual-energy CT imaging scanning and post-processing options, and potential clinical benefits mainly to improve the understanding radiographers and thus, expand the clinical use of dual-energy CT; Current dual-energy CT acquisition methods include dual tubes with or without beam filtration, rapid voltage switching, dual-layer detector, split filter technique, and sequential scanning. Dual-energy material-specific imaging methods include virtual monoenergetic or monochromatic imaging, effective atomic number map, virtual non-contrast or unenhanced imaging, virtual non-calcium imaging, iodine map, inhaled xenon map, uric acid imaging, automatic bone removal, and lung vessels analysis.