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Dual-energy multidetector CT: how does it work, what can it tell us, and when can we use it in abdominopelvic imaging?

Publication ,  Journal Article
Coursey, CA; Nelson, RC; Boll, DT; Paulson, EK; Ho, LM; Neville, AM; Marin, D; Gupta, RT; Schindera, ST
Published in: Radiographics
2010

Dual-energy CT provides information about how substances behave at different energies, the ability to generate virtual unenhanced datasets, and improved detection of iodine-containing substances on low-energy images. Knowing how a substance behaves at two different energies can provide information about tissue composition beyond that obtainable with single-energy techniques. The term K edge refers to the spike in attenuation that occurs at energy levels just greater than that of the K-shell binding because of the increased photoelectric absorption at these energy levels. K-edge values vary for each element, and they increase as the atomic number increases. The energy dependence of the photoelectric effect and the variability of K edges form the basis of dual-energy techniques, which may be used to detect substances such as iodine, calcium, and uric acid crystals. The closer the energy level used in imaging is to the K edge of a substance such as iodine, the more the substance attenuates. In the abdomen and pelvis, dual-energy CT may be used in the liver to increase conspicuity of hypervascular lesions; in the kidneys, to distinguish hyperattenuating cysts from enhancing renal masses and to characterize renal stone composition; in the adrenal glands, to characterize adrenal nodules; and in the pancreas, to differentiate between normal and abnormal parenchyma.

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Published In

Radiographics

DOI

EISSN

1527-1323

Publication Date

2010

Volume

30

Issue

4

Start / End Page

1037 / 1055

Location

United States

Related Subject Headings

  • Tomography, X-Ray Computed
  • Radiography, Dual-Energy Scanned Projection
  • Radiography, Abdominal
  • Pelvis
  • Nuclear Medicine & Medical Imaging
  • Humans
  • 3202 Clinical sciences
  • 1103 Clinical Sciences
 

Citation

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MLA
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Coursey, C. A., Nelson, R. C., Boll, D. T., Paulson, E. K., Ho, L. M., Neville, A. M., … Schindera, S. T. (2010). Dual-energy multidetector CT: how does it work, what can it tell us, and when can we use it in abdominopelvic imaging? Radiographics, 30(4), 1037–1055. https://doi.org/10.1148/rg.304095175
Coursey, Courtney A., Rendon C. Nelson, Daniel T. Boll, Erik K. Paulson, Lisa M. Ho, Amy M. Neville, Daniele Marin, Rajan T. Gupta, and Sebastian T. Schindera. “Dual-energy multidetector CT: how does it work, what can it tell us, and when can we use it in abdominopelvic imaging?Radiographics 30, no. 4 (2010): 1037–55. https://doi.org/10.1148/rg.304095175.
Coursey CA, Nelson RC, Boll DT, Paulson EK, Ho LM, Neville AM, et al. Dual-energy multidetector CT: how does it work, what can it tell us, and when can we use it in abdominopelvic imaging? Radiographics. 2010;30(4):1037–55.
Coursey, Courtney A., et al. “Dual-energy multidetector CT: how does it work, what can it tell us, and when can we use it in abdominopelvic imaging?Radiographics, vol. 30, no. 4, 2010, pp. 1037–55. Pubmed, doi:10.1148/rg.304095175.
Coursey CA, Nelson RC, Boll DT, Paulson EK, Ho LM, Neville AM, Marin D, Gupta RT, Schindera ST. Dual-energy multidetector CT: how does it work, what can it tell us, and when can we use it in abdominopelvic imaging? Radiographics. 2010;30(4):1037–1055.

Published In

Radiographics

DOI

EISSN

1527-1323

Publication Date

2010

Volume

30

Issue

4

Start / End Page

1037 / 1055

Location

United States

Related Subject Headings

  • Tomography, X-Ray Computed
  • Radiography, Dual-Energy Scanned Projection
  • Radiography, Abdominal
  • Pelvis
  • Nuclear Medicine & Medical Imaging
  • Humans
  • 3202 Clinical sciences
  • 1103 Clinical Sciences