Purpose: The appearance and associated interpretation of Virtual Non-Calcium (VNCa) images extracted from dual-energy CT (DECT) acquisitions are influenced by many parameters. This study aimed to investigate the effects of acquisition, reconstruction, and postprocessing parameters on VNCa images.
Material And Methods: A human cadaver leg was scanned using a dual-source DECT scanner, with variations in tube current, tube voltage, reconstruction kernels, and post-processing settings (resolution, upper threshold, lower threshold, beam-hardening correction). The impact of noise was investigated by scanning the specimen five times using the same standard acquisition, reconstruction and postprocessing parameters. VNCa values were measured in four different regions of interest within different bones.
Results: Tube current and reconstruction kernels had no significant effect on VNCa values, with maximal standard deviations of 6.2 and 6.1 HU respectively. However, reducing the kVp difference between both tubes, reduced the spectral separation which resulted in lower VNCa values. For postprocessing parameters, variations in resolution and lower and upper thresholds as well as applying beam-hardening correction showed a large impact on VNCa values.
Conclusion: The results of this study improve the understanding of the impact of certain CT parameters on VNCa images. Tube voltage and post-processing settings have a large impact on VNCa values. An inappropriate choice of threshold range, resolution and incorrect use of calcium beam-hardening correction can potentially lead to false positive findings of bone marrow edema. This can furthermore impact the ability to compare results from the literature and between institutions, which emphasizes the importance of optimizing and standardizing acquisition, reconstruction and postprocessing parameters for consistent VNCa imaging.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ejrad.2024.111818 | DOI Listing |
Int J Cardiovasc Imaging
January 2025
Department of Radiology, Azienda Ospedaliero Universitaria (A.O.U.), di Cagliari - Polo di Monserrato s.s. 554 Monserrato (Cagliari), Monserrato, 09045, Italy.
The purpose of this study was to explore the impact of papillary muscle (PPM) infarction on left atrial and ventricular strain parameters in patients with non-anterior ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (NA-STEMI) using cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR). This retrospective study performed CMR scans on 88 consecutive patients with NA-STEMI (68 males, 65 ± 10.05 years).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFUltramicroscopy
January 2025
Nanopatterning-Nanoanalysis-Photonic Materials Group, Department of Physics, Paderborn University, Warburgerstr. 100, Paderborn, 33098, Germany. Electronic address:
Electron energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS) performed in a scanning transmission electron microscope (STEM) is susceptible to noise, just like every other measurement. EELS measurements are also affected by signal blurring, related to the energy distribution of the electron beam and the detector point spread function (PSF). Moreover, the signal blurring caused by the detector introduces correlation effects, which smooth the noise.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBiomater Sci
January 2025
Department of Chemistry, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Amritapuri, Kollam, India.
Hydroxyapatite (HA), the main inorganic bone component, is the most widely researched bioceramic for bone repair. This paper presents a comprehensive review of recent advancements in HA synthesis methods and their integration into additive manufacturing (AM) processes. Synthesis methodologies discussed include wet, dry, and biomimetic routes, emphasizing their impact on tailoring the physicochemical properties of HA for biomedical applications.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Appl Clin Med Phys
January 2025
Medical Physics Section, OHS Department, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar.
Purpose: To evaluate image quality (IQ) of for-processing (raw) and for-presentation (clinical) radiography images, under different exposure conditions and digital image post-processing algorithms, using a phantom that enables multiple detection tasks.
Methods: A modified version of the radiography phantom described in the IAEA Human Health Series No. 39 publication was constructed, incorporating six additional Aluminum (Al) targets of thicknesses both smaller and larger than the standard one.
AJNR Am J Neuroradiol
January 2025
From the Department of Radiology, Medical Physics (MML, TJC), Department of Interventional Radiology (NS, GAC), Department of Surgery and Large Animal Studies (MAN), and the Department of Statistics (MG), University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA; Department of Anesthesiology (SPR), University of Illinois, Chicago, IL, USA; Department of Radiology (MSS), University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA; Department of Radiology, Biomedical Engineering and Imaging Institute (Current affiliation MML), Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA; Mount Carmel Health Systems (Current affiliation GAC), Columbus, OH, USA.
Background And Purpose: In acute ischemic stroke, the amount of "local" CBF distal to the occlusion, i.e. all blood flow within a region whether supplied antegrade or delayed and dispersed through the collateral network, may contain valuable information regarding infarct growth rate and treatment response.
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