Dutch researchers have found that an ultrahigh-resolution CT scanner can provide twice the resolution of a current multidetector-row CT (MDCT) scanner, but with nearly a quarter more dose. They shared their findings in an article published online on 10 February in European Radiology.
The group led by Luuk Oostveen of Radboud University Medical Center in Nijmegen compared the technical performances of the Aquilion Precision ultrahigh-resolution CT scanner (Canon Medical Systems) and the Aquilion One Genesis MDCT system (Canon) using standard procedures and phantoms. The researchers found that the Precision scanner's high-resolution and superhigh-resolution mode resulted in double the spatial resolution, but with an approximate 23% increase in dose required to achieve the same low-contrast detectability.
"With abdominal settings, [ultrahigh-resolution CT] needs higher dose for the same low-contrast detectability as MDCT, but dose is still below achievable levels as defined by current diagnostic reference levels," the authors wrote.
In addition, the scanner's normal-resolution mode provided spatial resolution and noise characteristics comparable to those of the MDCT system.
