The pilot study of dual-energy CT gemstone spectral imaging on the image quality of hand tendons

Purpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate the image quality of hand tendons using dual-energy computed tomographic gemstone spectral imaging (DECT GSI) compared with conventional CT images. Materials and methods: Forty patients scanned with GSI mode on DECT were enrolled. The 65-keV optimal contrast-to-noise ratio for viewing hand tendons was selected. The image quality of monochromatic GSI images (65 key) and conventional CT images was compared with two different methods including a subjective method and an objective method by two radiologists, respectively. Results: In the subjective method, the image quality in GSI images was superior to conventional CT images (P<.05). And in the objective method, the beam-hardening artifacts in the phalanges of finger space were reduced markedly, with hand tendons displaying more clearly in GSI images (P<.05). There was no significant difference between the two radiologists in both methods, with good correlation (kappa=0.75, kappa=0.85). Conclusion: DECT GSI with the optimal 65-keV monochromatic images could reduce the artifacts and increase image quality significantly in hand tendons imaging. It might be very useful in detecting tendon diseases in routine work. (C) 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.