Wednesday, December 2 | 3:50 p.m.-4:00 p.m. | SSM07-06 | Room S403B
In the emergency room, noncontrast head CT scans often reveal hyperdensities that could represent small parenchymal hemorrhages or calcifications. Much of the time, but not always, the two can be differentiated by morphology and location. But is the standard practice of waiting six hours to repeat the head CT scan to assess stability the best way to solve the remaining mysteries?In their pilot study, researchers from Brigham and Women's Hospital put the task to dual-energy CT and a new postprocessing algorithm by modifying the brain hemorrhage three-material decomposition application to distinguish between calcium and hemorrhage.
They found that the postprocessing algorithm showed promise in distinguishing calcium and hemorrhage, presenter Dr. Christopher Potter wrote in an email to AuntMinnie.com.
"This has the potential to increase diagnostic confidence and decrease the need for repeat CT and emergency department wait time in these cases," Potter stated.
![Axial images from unenhanced calcium score cardiac CT (left) and curved planar reformation images from CT angiography (right) show that higher long-term exposure to air pollution is associated with greater coronary artery calcium and more obstructive coronary artery disease (CAD). Top row: Images in a 68-year-old male patient with higher 10-year mean ambient air pollution exposure (7.9 μg/m3 for particulate matter measuring ≤2.5 μm in diameter [PM2.5] and 17.4 parts per billion [ppb] for NO2) with extensive CAD (coronary artery calcium score [CACS] >1,000 and obstructive CAD [≥70% diameter stenosis]). Bottom row: Images in a 57-year-old female patient with lower 10-year mean ambient air pollution exposure (6.3 μg/m3 for PM2.5 and 4.6 ppb for NO2) with no CAD (CACS = 0 and no obstructive stenosis).](https://img.auntminnie.com/mindful/smg/workspaces/default/uploads/2026/06/hanneman.r6SMLzkezo.png?auto=format%2Ccompress&dpr=2&fit=crop&h=167&q=70&w=250)
