[A Review of Current Knowledge for X-ray Energy in CT: Practical Guide for CT Technologist].

In computed tomography (CT) systems, the optimal X-ray energy in imaging depends on the material composition and the subject size. Among the parameters related to the X-ray energy, we can arbitrarily change only the tube voltage. For years, the tube voltage has often been set at 120 kVp. However, since about 2000, there has been an increasing interest in reducing radiation dose, and it has led to the publication of various reports on low tube voltage. Furthermore, with the spread of dual-energy CT, virtual monochromatic X-ray images are widely used since the contrast can be adjusted by selecting the optional energy. Therefore, because of the renewed interest in X-ray energy in CT imaging, the issue of energy and imaging needs to be summarized. In this article, we describe the basics of physical characteristics of X-ray attenuation with materials and its influence on the process of CT imaging. Moreover, the relationship between X-ray energy and CT imaging is discussed for clinical applications.

[Effect of Hybrid Iterative Reconstruction on CT Image Quality Using Metal Artifact Reduction].

PURPOSE: This study aimed to evaluate the effect of adaptive iterative dose reduction 3D (AIDR 3D) on the computed tomography (CT) image quality by using single energy metal artifact reduction (SEMAR). MATERIALS & METHODS: A water phantom (22 cmφ) with the stem for total hip arthroplasty made of titanium was scanned. The volume CT dose index (CTDIvol) was set to 8.9 and 5.0 mGy. The reconstruction was performed using filtered back projection and AIDR 3D by soft kernel (FC13) and SEMAR. The averaged profile method was used for the quantitative evaluation of artifacts. We placed a rectangular region-of-interest on the artifact part, and obtained the x-direction averaged profile (Profile A). Profile B was obtained using a water phantom without metal. Profiles A and B were normalized as Profiles A' and B' using the mean value calculated from Profile B. Based on the standard deviation (SD) calculated from Profile B', the background variation level was defined as ±2SD, and subtracted from Profile A' (Profile A″). Finally, the area of Profile A″ was calculated and defined as Artifacttotal. Artifactover, and Artifactunder, respectively, the positive- and negative-side components of Artifacttotal. RESULTS: Both Artifacttotal and Artifactunder increased according to the strength of AIDR 3D. The variations of Artifactover and Artifactunder, due to the AIDR 3D strength, were small and large, respectively. Further, in comparison with a high dose, the effect of artifact emphasis increased at low dose. Therefore, it should be noted that stronger AIDR 3D can emphasize the residual metal artifact.