Thoracic Applications of Dual Energy

Recent technological advances in multidetector computed tomography (CT) have led to the introduction of dual-source CT, which allows acquisition of CT data at the same energy or at 2 distinct tube voltage settings during a single acquisition. The advantage of the former is improvement of temporal resolution, whereas the latter offers new options for CT imaging, allowing tissue characterization and functional analysis with morphologic evaluation. The most investigated application has been iodine mapping at pulmonary CT angiography. The material decomposition achievable opens up new options for recognizing substances poorly characterized by single-energy CT. Although it is too early to draw definitive conclusions on dual-energy CT applications, this article reviews the results already reported with the first generation of dual-source CT systems.