Xenon versus ceramics: A comparison of two CT X-ray detector systems

Purpose: The purpose of this work was to compare image quality in phantom and patient CT scans acquired by xenon and ceramic CT detector systems. Method: High and low contrast resolution and image noise were determined with a standard CT phantom for both detector systems. In patient CT images, the effect on image noise was measured in anatomical regions of interest in the head, lumbar spine, chest, and abdomen. Results: In phantom studies, image noise was significantly lower using ceramic versus xenon detectors. Also, in images of the head and lumbar spine, the signal-to-noise ratio was significantly higher with ceramic than with xenon detectors. In chest scans, ceramic significantly reduced beam-hardening artifacts caused by the thoracic spine. However, in abdominal images, the signal-to-noise ratio was not significantly different between ceramic and xenon detector systems. Conclusion: For reduced image noise in CT images of the head, lumbar spine, and chest and high resolution CT, ceramic detector systems appear to be superior to xenon detector systems.