RESEARCH WORK
China Medical Devices.
Accepted: 2024-11-04
Objective To explore the application of the combination of energy spectral purification, automatic dose modulation (CARE DOSE 4D) and advanced model iterative reconstruction algorithm (ADMIRE) in children's chest ultra-low dose CT. Methods 60 children with pneumonia were clinically diagnosed by chest low-dose CT and divided into control group A and experimental group B. There were 30 cases in each group. Group A received conventional chest low-dose CT scan. Group B was an ultra-low-dose CT scan of the chest, and groups B1, B2 and B3 were reconstructed according to ADMIRE grades 3, 4 and 5. Subjective evaluate of four groups was independently assessed by two senior physicians. Objective data of each set of images were measured, radiation dose was recorded, and figure of merit (FOM) was calculated. Statistical analysis was performed on all obtained data. Results There is good consistency in the subjective scores between the two physicians (Kappa = 0.567). The image acceptability of group A, B1, B2 and B3 was greater than 90%. The subjective scores of all groups are greater than 1 point, and all can meet the diagnostic requirements. There are significant differences in the subjective scores among the four groups (P < 0.001). In pairwise comparisons, there were no statistical differences in subjective scores between group A and B3, or between group B1 and B2 (P>0.05), while there were statistical differences in all other pairs (P<0.05). The subjective scores of group B gradually tended to group A as the ADMIRE grade increased. There were no significant differences in the average CT values of muscle and lung tissues among the four groups (P > 0.05). There were significant differences in the average SD values, SDmuscle, SNR, CNR, and FOM of muscle among the four groups (P < 0.001). In pairwise comparisons, only the average SD values, SDmuscle, SNR, CNR, and FOM of muscle in group A were not statistically different from those in group B3 (P > 0.05), while the rest of the groups showed significant differences (P < 0.001). The FOM of the group A, B1, B2 and B3 showed an increasing trend, with the highest value in group B3. The minimum DLP in group B was 2.2 mGy·cm, and the minimum ED was 0.04 mSv. The effective radiation dose of group B was reduced by 82.4% compared with group A. Conclusion The combination of energy spectrum purification, CARE DOSE 4D and ADMIRE can not only optimize the CT image quality of children's chest to satisfy the diagnosis, but also significantly reduce the radiation dose, which has great clinical application value.