Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40106074›Full record

ArticleEuropean radiology experimental2025

Beam hardening of K-edge contrast agents: a phantom study comparing clinical energy-integrating detector and photon-counting detector CT systems.

Amir Pourmorteza, Arnaud Richard Choux, Thomas Wesley Holmes, U Joseph Schoepf, Marly van Assen, Carlo De Cecco, Tilman Emrich, Akos Varga-Szemes

Abstract readComparative Study
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in European radiology experimental, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

5 citing papers in PubMed.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Amir PourmortezaDepartment of Radiology and Imaging Sciences, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA. Amir.pourmorteza@gmail.com.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7149-5424
Arnaud Richard ChouxDepartment of Radiology and Imaging Sciences, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA.
Thomas Wesley HolmesDepartment of Radiology and Imaging Sciences, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA.
U Joseph SchoepfDepartment of Radiology, Medical University of South Carolina, Clinical Science Building, Charleston, SC, USA.
Marly van AssenDepartment of Radiology and Imaging Sciences, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA.
Carlo De CeccoDepartment of Radiology and Imaging Sciences, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA.
Tilman EmrichDepartment of Radiology, Medical University of South Carolina, Clinical Science Building, Charleston, SC, USA.
Akos Varga-SzemesDepartment of Radiology, Medical University of South Carolina, Clinical Science Building, Charleston, SC, USA.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundBeam hardening (BH) artifacts negatively influence computed tomography (CT) measurements, especially when due to dense materials or materials with high effective atomic numbers. Photon-counting detectors (PCD) are more susceptible to BH due to equal weighting of photons regardless of their energies. The problem is further confounded by the use of contrast agents (CAs) with K-edge in the diagnostic CT energy range. We quantified the BH effect of different materials comparing energy-integrating detector (EID)-CT and PCD-CT.

methodsPairs of test tubes were filled with dense CA (iodine-, gadolinium-, and bismuth-based) and placed inside a water phantom. The phantoms were scanned on EID- and PCD-CT systems, at all available tube voltages for the PCD scanner. Images were reconstructed with standard water BH correction but without any iodine/bone BH corrections. Virtual monoenergetic images (VMI) were calculated from PCD-CT data.

resultsPCD-CT had higher CT numbers in all x-ray spectra for all CAs (p < 0.001) and produced larger cupping artifacts in all test cases (p < 0.001). Bismuth-based CA artifacts were 3- to 5-fold smaller than those of iodine- or gadolinium-based CA. PCD-CT-based VMI completely removed iodine BH artifacts. Iodine BH artifacts decreased with increasing tube voltage. However, gadolinium-based BH artifacts had a different trend increasing at 120 kVp.

conclusionEID had fewer BH artifacts compared to PCD at x-ray tube voltages of 120 kVp and higher. The inherent spectral information of PCDs can be used to eliminate BH artifacts. Special care is needed to correct BH artifacts for gadolinium- and bismuth-based CAs. RELEVANCE STATEMENT: With the increasing availability of clinical photon-counting CT systems offering the possibility of dual contrast imaging capabilities, addressing and comprehending the BH artifacts attributed to old and novel CT CAs grows in research and ultimately clinical relevance. KEY POINTS: EID-CT provides fewer BH artifacts compared to PCD-CT at x-ray tube voltages of 120 kVp and higher. K-edge CAs, such as those based on gadolinium, further confound BH artifacts. The inherent spectral information of photon counting detector CT can be used to effectively eliminate BH artifacts.

Indexed as

Contrast MediaPhantoms, ImagingTomography, X-Ray ComputedArtifactsGadoliniumHumansIodinePhotonsContrast MediaGadoliniumIodineArtifactsBismuthGadoliniumIodineTomography (x-ray computed)

Identifiers

PMID40106074
PMCPMC11923337

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.