ArticleQuantitative imaging in medicine and surgery2024
Comparison of virtual and true non-contrast images from dual-layer spectral detector computed tomography (CT) in patients with colorectal cancer.
Article in Quantitative imaging in medicine and surgery, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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11 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- CT acquisition protocols by pathology, SIRM position paper part 2 (Abdominal and Oncologic Imaging, Urology, Paediatric).La Radiologia medica · 2026Guideline
- Spatial non-uniformity of liver virtual non-contrast attenuation on dual-layer spectral CT: Impact of body habitus and peripheral right-lobe error.European journal of radiology open · 2026Article
- Practical applications of photon-counting CT in oncology: an organ-based pictorial review.Insights into imaging · 2026Article
- Differentiation of tumor budding grade in colon cancer using noise-optimized virtual monoenergetic image in dual-energy CT.Abdominal radiology (New York) · 2026Article
- The diagnostic value of virtual unenhanced spectral CT images in acute pancreatitis: a comparison with true unenhanced images.BMC medical imaging · 2026Article
- Research progress of the clinical application of dual-layer spectral computed tomography in gastrointestinal malignancies.World journal of radiology · 2026Review
- Performance of virtual unenhanced images on a prototype silicon photon counting detector CT: preliminary clinical results.BMC biomedical engineering · 2026Article
- Dual-energy CT for hypovascular liver metastases: does better image quality translate to clinical benefit?La Radiologia medica · 2026Article
- Research progress on the application of dual energy CT in gastric diseases.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Review
- Comparison of Virtual Non-Contrast Images Generated by Spectral Detector Computed Tomography and Conventional Computed Tomography Images of Histologically Confirmed Hepatic Pathologies in 28 Dogs.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2025Article
- Dual-layer spectral detector computed tomography for adrenal adenoma characterization: radiation dose reduction and quantitative agreement of multiphase virtual noncontrast with true noncontrast imaging.Quantitative imaging in medicine and surgery · 2025Article
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Abstract
Background: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is commonly assessed by computed tomography (CT), but the associated radiation exposure is a major concern. This study aimed to quantitatively and qualitatively compare the image quality of virtual non-contrast (VNC) images reconstructed from arterial and portal venous phases with that of true non-contrast (TNC) images in patients with CRC to assess the potential of TNC images to replace VNC images, thereby reducing the radiation dose. Methods: A total of 69 patients with postoperative pathologically confirmed CRC at the West China Hospital of Sichuan University between May 2022 and April 2023 were enrolled in this cross-sectional study. The CT protocol included the acquisition of TNC images, arterial and portal venous phase images; the VNC images were reconstructed from the two postcontrast phase images. Several parameters, including the CT attenuation value, absolute attenuation error, imaging noise [standard deviation (SD)], signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), and contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR), were measured in multiple abdominal structures for both the TNC and VNC images. Two blinded readers assessed the subjective image quality using a five-point scale. Interobserver agreement was evaluated using interclass correlation coefficients (ICCs). The paired t-test and Wilcoxon signed-rank test were used to compare the objective and subjective results between the TNC and VNC images. Individual measurements of radiation doses for the TNC scan and contrast scan protocols were recorded. Results: A total of 2,070 regions of interest (ROIs) of the 69 patients were analyzed. Overall, the VNC images exhibited significantly lower attenuation values and SD values than the TNC images in all tissues, except for the abdominal aorta, portal vein, and spleen. The mean absolute attenuation errors between the VNC and TNC images were all less than 10 Hounsfield units (HU). The percentages of absolute attenuation errors less than 5 and 10 HU in the VNC images from the arterial phase (VNCa) were 78.99% and 97.97%, respectively, while those from the portal venous phase (VNCp) were 81.59% and 96.96%, respectively. The absolute attenuation errors between the TNC and VNCa images were smaller than those between the TNC and VNCp images for tumors [VNCaerror: 2.77, interquartile range (IQR) 1.77-4.22; VNCperror: 3.27, IQR 2.68-4.30; P=0.002]. The SNR values and CNR values in the VNC images were significantly higher than those in the TNC images for all tissues, except for the portal vein and spleen. The image quality was rated as excellent (represented by a score of 5) in the majority of the TNC and VNC images; however, the VNC images scored lower than the TNC images. Eliminating the TNC phase resulted in a reduction of approximately 37.99% in the effective dose (ED). Conclusions: The VNC images provided accurate CT attenuation, good image quality, and lower radiation doses than the TNC images in CRC, and the VNCa images showed minimal differences in the CT attenuation of the tumors.
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