Carotid artery assessment in dual-source photon-counting CT: impact of low-energy virtual monoenergetic imaging on image quality, vascular contrast and diagnostic assessability.

Purpose: Preliminary dual-energy CT studies have shown that low-energy virtual monoenergetic (VMI) + reconstructions can provide superior image quality compared to standard 120 kV CTA series. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the impact of low-energy VMI reconstructions on quantitative and qualitative image quality, vascular contrast, and diagnostic assessability of the carotid artery in patients undergoing photon-counting CTA examinations.

Materials And Methods: A total of 122 patients (67 male) who had undergone dual-source photon-counting CTA scans of the carotid artery were retrospectively analyzed in this study.

Advancing Differentiation of Hepatic Metastases in Malignant Melanoma through Dual-Energy Computed Tomography Rho/Z Maps.

Objectives: The aim of this study is to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of dual-energy computed tomography (DECT)-based Rho/Z maps in differentiating between metastases and benign liver lesions in patients diagnosed with malignant melanoma compared to conventional CT value measurements.

Methods: This retrospective study included 73 patients (mean age, 70 ± 13 years; 43 m/30 w) suffering from malignant melanoma who had undergone third-generation DECT as part of tumor staging between December 2017 and December 2021. For this study, we measured Rho (electron density) and Z (effective atomic number) values as well as Hounsfield units (HUs) in hypodense liver lesions.