Relationships of clinical protocols and reconstruction kernels with image quality and radiation dose in a 128-slice CT scanner: Study with an anthropomorphic and water phantom

► Clinical protocol, reconstruction kernel, reconstructed slice thickness, phantom diameter or the density of material it contains directly affects the image quality of DSCT. ► Dual energy protocol shows the lowest DLP compared to all other protocols examined. ► Dual-energy fused images show excellent image quality and the noise is same as that of single- or high-pitch mode protocol images. ► Advanced CT technology improves image quality and considerably reduce radiation dose. ► An important finding is the comparatively higher DLP of the dual-source high-pitch protocol compared to other single- or dual-energy protocols.