Cardiac Virtual Noncontrast Images for Calcium Quantification with Photon-counting Detector CT.

Purpose: To assess the accuracy of aortic valve calcium (AVC), mitral annular calcium (MAC), and coronary artery calcium (CAC) quantification and risk stratification using virtual noncontrast (VNC) images from late enhancement photon-counting detector CT as compared with true noncontrast images.

Materials And Methods: This retrospective, institutional review board-approved study evaluated patients undergoing photon-counting detector CT between January and September 2022. VNC images were reconstructed from late enhancement cardiac scans at 60, 70, 80, and 90 keV using quantum iterative reconstruction (QIR) strengths of 2-4.