The pilot study of dual-energy CT gemstone spectral imaging on the image quality of hand tendons

PurposeThe aim of this study was to evaluate the image quality of hand tendons using dual-energy computed tomographic gemstone spectral imaging (DECT GSI) compared with conventional CT images.Materials and methodsForty patients scanned with GSI mode on DECT were enrolled. The 65-keV optimal contrast-to-noise ratio for viewing hand tendons was selected. The image quality of monochromatic GSI images (65 keV) and conventional CT images was compared with two different methods including a subjective method and an objective method by two radiologists, respectively.ResultsIn the subjective method, the image quality in GSI images was superior to conventional CT images (P< .05). And in the objective method, the beam-hardening artifacts in the phalanges of finger space were reduced markedly, with hand tendons displaying more clearly in GSI images (P< .05). There was no significant difference between the two radiologists in both methods, with good correlation (kappa=0.75, kappa=0.85).ConclusionDECT GSI with the optimal 65-keV monochromatic images could reduce the artifacts and increase image quality significantly in hand tendons imaging. It might be very useful in detecting tendon diseases in routine work.