Evaluation of CT Angiography Image Quality Acquired with Single-Energy Metal Artifact Reduction (SEMAR) Algorithm in Patients After Complex Endovascular Aortic Repair.

Purpose: To evaluate the value of single-energy metal artifact reduction (SEMAR) algorithm on image quality in patients after complex endovascular aortic repair (EVAR) with fenestrated and branched devices.

Methods: Routine follow-up computed tomography angiography (CTA) examinations were performed between February 2016 and May 2017 in 18 patients who underwent a complex EVAR procedure at our institution. Objective analysis was performed by measuring the standard deviation (SD) of attenuation (Hounsfield Units), and the contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) in regions of interests in the stented visceral arteries.

Assessment of structural similarity in CT using filtered backprojection and iterative reconstruction: a phantom study with 3D printed lung vessels.

Objective: To compare the performance of three generations of CT reconstruction techniques using structural similarity (SSIM) as a measure of image quality for CT scans of a chest phantom with 3D printed lung vessels.

Methods: CT images of the chest phantom were acquired at seven dose levels by changing the tube current while other acquisition parameters were kept constant. Three CT reconstruction techniques were applied on each acquisition.

SimDoseCT: dose reporting software based on Monte Carlo simulation for a 320 detector-row cone-beam CT scanner and ICRP computational adult phantoms.

This study aims to develop and test software for assessing and reporting doses for standard patients undergoing computed tomography (CT) examinations in a 320 detector-row cone-beam scanner. The software, called SimDoseCT, is based on the Monte Carlo (MC) simulation code, which was developed to calculate organ doses and effective doses in ICRP anthropomorphic adult reference computational phantoms for acquisitions with the Aquilion ONE CT scanner (Toshiba). MC simulation was validated by comparing CTDI measurements within standard CT dose phantoms with results from simulation under the same conditions.

Perfusion CT of the Brain and Liver and of Lung Tumors: Use of Monte Carlo Simulation for Patient Dose Estimation for Examinations With a Cone-Beam 320-MDCT Scanner.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to estimate the patient dose from perfusion CT examinations of the brain, lung tumors, and the liver on a cone-beam 320-MDCT scanner using a Monte Carlo simulation and the recommendations of the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP).

Materials And Methods: A Monte Carlo simulation based on the Electron Gamma Shower Version 4 package code was used to calculate organ doses and the effective dose in the reference computational phantoms for an adult man and adult woman as published by the ICRP. Three perfusion CT acquisition protocols--brain, lung tumor, and liver perfusion--were evaluated.

A Monte Carlo simulation for the estimation of patient dose in rest and stress cardiac computed tomography with a 320-detector row CT scanner.

Purpose: To estimate organ dose and effective dose for patients for cardiac CT as applied in an international multicenter study (CORE320) with a 320-Detector row CT scanner using Monte Carlo (MC) simulations and voxelized phantoms. The effect of positioning of the arms, off-centering the patient and heart rate on patient dose was analyzed.

Methods: A MC code was tailored to simulate the geometry and characteristics of the CT scanner.