In The British journal of radiology
OBJECTIVE : To compare image quality and diagnostic accuracy of arterial stenosis in low-dose lower-extremity CT angiography (CTA) between adaptive statistical iterative reconstruction-V (ASIR-V) and deep learning image reconstruction (DLIR) algorithms.
METHODS : Forty-six patients undergoing low-dose lower-extremity CTA were enrolled. Images were reconstructed using ASIR-V (blending factor of 50% (AV-50) and 100% (AV-100)) and DLIR (medium (DL-M), and high (DL-H)). CT values and standard deviation (SD) of the aorta, psoas, popliteal artery, popliteal and ankle muscles were measured. The edge-rise-distance (ERD) and edge-rise-slope (ERS) were calculated. The degrees of granularity and edge blurring were assessed using a 5-point scale. The stenosis degrees were measured on the four reconstructions, and their mean-square-errors (MSE) against that of digital subtraction angiography (DSA) were calculated and compared.
RESULTS : For both ASIR-V and DLIR, higher reconstruction intensity generated lower noise and higher SNR and CNR values. The SD values in AV-100 images were significantly lower than other reconstructions. The two DLIR image groups had higher ERS and lower ERD (DL-M:1.79 ± 0.37 mm and DL-H:1.82 ± 0.38 mm vs AV-50:1.96 ± 0.39 mm and AV-100:2.01 ± 0.36 mm, p = 0.014) than ASIR-V images. The overall image quality of DLIR was rated higher than ASIR-V (DL-M:0.83 ± 0.61, DL-H:0.41 ± 0.62, AV-50:1.85 ± 0.60 and AV-100:2.37 ± 0.77, p < 0.001), with DL-H having the highest overall image quality score. For stenosis measurement, DL-H had the lowest MSE compared to DSA among all reconstruction groups.
CONCLUSION : DLIR images had higher image quality ratings with lower image noise and sharper vessel walls in low-dose lower-extremity CTA, and DL-H provides the best overall image quality and highest accuracy in diagnosing artery stenoses.
Qu Tingting, Guo Yinxia, Li Jianying, Cao Le, Li Yanan, Chen Lihong, Sun Jingtao, Lu Xueni, Guo Jianxin
2022-Nov-07
