Low-dose dual-energy CT for stone characterization: a systematic comparison of two generations of split-filter single-source and dual-source dual-energy CT

Purpose To compare noise texture and accuracy to differentiate uric acid from non-uric acid urinary stones among four different single-source and dual-source DECT approaches in an ex vivo phantom study. Methods Thirty-two urinary stones embedded in gelatin were mounted on a Styrofoam disk and placed into a water-filled phantom. The phantom was imaged using four different DECT approaches: (A) dual-source DECT (DS-DE); (B) 1st generation split-filter single-source DECT (SF1-TB); (C) 2nd generation split-filter single-source DECT (SF2-TB) and (D) 2nd generation split-filter single-source DECT using serial acquisitions (SF2-TS). Two different radiation doses (3 mGy and 6 mGy) were used. Noise texture was compared by assessing the average spatial frequency (f(av)) of the normalized noise power spectrum (nNPS). ROC curves for stone classification were computed and the accuracy for different dual-energy ratio cutoffs was derived. Results NNPS demonstrated comparable noise texture among A, C, and D (f(av)-range 0.18-0.19) but finer noise texture for B (f(av) = 0.27). Stone classification showed an accuracy of 96.9%, 96.9%, 93.8%, 93.8% for A, B, C, D for low-dose, respectively, and 100%, 96.9%, 96.9%, 100% for routine dose. The vendor-specified cutoff for the dual-energy ratio was optimal except for the low-dose scan in D for which the accuracy was improved from 93.8 to 100% using an optimized cutoff. Conclusion Accuracy to differentiate uric acid from non-uric acid stones was high among four single-source and dual-source DECT approaches for low- and routine dose DECT scans. Noise texture differed only slightly for the first-generation split-filter approach.