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High-pitch low-dose abdominopelvic CT with tin-filtration technique for detecting urinary stones

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Abstract

Objectives

To evaluate urinary stone detection, radiation exposure, image quality, breathing-motion artifacts, and scanning time with high-pitch tin filter-based abdominopelvic CT.

Methods

Sixty-three consecutive patients with urolithiasis underwent non-enhanced abdominopelvic CT with both regular (120 kV, pitch 0.6) and low-dose (Sn150kV, pitch 3.0) protocols on a third-generation dual-source CT. Stone characteristics, image noise (SD), signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), subjective image quality on a 5-point likert scale breathing-motion artifacts, and scanning time were evaluated. Volume CT dose index (CTDIvol), dose-length product (DLP), effective dose (ED) were compared.

Results

A total of 157 urinary stones were detected by regular protocol; 154 were correctly identified by low-dose protocol with an overall detection rate of 98.1%. No significant differences were observed in SD, SNR, or subjective image quality between two protocols (P > 0.05). Compared to regular protocol, CTDIvol and ED were 56.6% (7.19 vs. 3.12 mGy, P < 0.001) and 55.6% (5.25 vs. 2.33 mSv, P < 0.001) lower; scanning time was 89.5% (7.9 vs. 0.83, P < 0.001) shorter; and breathing-motion artifacts were fewer (8 vs. 0 patients) with low-dose protocol.

Conclusions

High-pitch abdominopelvic CT with Sn150kV substantially reduced radiation exposure and scanning time, while maintained stone detection and image quality and prevented breathing-motion artifacts.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiology, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Peking Union Medical College, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Shuaifuyuan No. 1, Wangfujing Street, Dongcheng District, Beijing, 100730, China

    Gu-Mu-Yang Zhang, Bing Shi, Hao Sun, Hua-Dan Xue, Yun Wang, Ji-Xiang Liang, Kai Xu, Ming Wang, Man Wang & Zheng-Yu Jin

  2. CT Scientific Collaboration, Siemens Healthcare Limited, Shanghai, China

    Min Xu

Authors
  1. Gu-Mu-Yang Zhang
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  2. Bing Shi
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  3. Hao Sun
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  4. Hua-Dan Xue
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  5. Yun Wang
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  6. Ji-Xiang Liang
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  7. Kai Xu
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  8. Ming Wang
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  9. Man Wang
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  10. Min Xu
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  11. Zheng-Yu Jin
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Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Hao Sun, Hua-Dan Xue or Zheng-Yu Jin.

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No funding was received for this study.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Zhang, GMY., Shi, B., Sun, H. et al. High-pitch low-dose abdominopelvic CT with tin-filtration technique for detecting urinary stones. Abdom Radiol 42, 2127–2134 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00261-017-1103-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00261-017-1103-x

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