The Pilot Study of Energy Spectral CT on the Image Quality of CT Portal Venography

Objective: To investigate the effect of energy spectral CT on the image quality of CT Portal Venography in cirrhosis patients.Materials and Methods: Fourty-five patients with portal hypertension were underwent GSI(Gemstone spectral imaging) examination.The spectrum analysis was used to select the monochromatic images for obtaining the best contrast-to-noise ratio(CNR) for portal veins.The CNR and image noise of inner and outer liver portal veins at the selected monochromatic level and the conventional polychromatic images were measured and analyzed.Results: The CNR of polychromatic image,monochromatic images at 70 and 51 keV vein were 3.35 ± 1.16,4.90 ± 1.34 and 8.32 ± 2.21 for inner hepatic portal,and 6.25 ± 1.65,8.88 ± 1.94 and 13.85 ± 2.95 for outer hepatic portal respectively.The best quality image was obtained at 51 keV monochromatic level.Conclusion: The image quality of CTPV can be improved by using monochromatic image mode with the most suitable monochromatic level of 51 keV.