• Eric W Olcott, Lewis K Shin, Graham Sommer, Ian Chan, Jarrett Rosenberg, F Lior Molvin, F Edward Boas, and Dominik Fleischmann.
• Department of Radiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, 300 Pasteur Drive, H1307, Stanford, CA 94305-5105; Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System, Palo Alto, CA. Electronic address: eolcott@stanford.edu.
• Acad Radiol. 2014 Jun 1; 21 (6): 774-84.

Rationale And ObjectivesTo prospectively evaluate the perceived image quality of model-based iterative reconstruction (MBIR) compared to adaptive statistical iterative reconstruction (ASIR) and filtered back-projection (FBP) in computed tomography (CT) of the kidneys and retroperitoneum.Materials And MethodsWith investigational review board and Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act compliance, 17 adults underwent 31 contrast-enhanced CT acquisitions at constant tube potential and current (range 30-300 mA). Each was reconstructed with MBIR, ASIR (50%), and FBP. Four reviewers scored each reconstruction's perceived image quality overall and the perceived image quality of seven imaging features that were selected by the authors as being relevant to imaging in the region and pertinent to the evaluation of high-quality diagnostic CT.ResultsMBIR perceived image quality scored superior to ASIR and FBP both overall (P < .001) and for observations of the retroperitoneal fascia (99.2%), corticomedullary differentiation (94.4%), renal hilar structures (96.8%), focal renal lesions (92.5%), and mitigation of streak artifact (100.0%; all, P < .001). MBIR achieved diagnostic overall perceived image quality with approximately half the radiation dose required by ASIR and FBP. The noise curve of MBIR was significantly lower and flatter (P < .001).ConclusionsCompared to ASIR and FBP, MBIR provides superior perceived image quality, both overall and for several specific imaging features, across a broad range of tube current levels, and requires approximately half the radiation dose to achieve diagnostic overall perceived image quality. Accordingly, MBIR should enable CT scanning with improved perceived image quality and/or reduced radiation exposure.Copyright © 2014 AUR. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

33 keywords...

hide…