Sunday, November 26 | 11:25 a.m.-11:35 a.m. | SSA21-05 | Room S404AB
Continuing advances have given rise to an ultrahigh-resolution (UHR) photon-counting detector CT technique that improves resolution and allows for reductions in radiation dose, according to U.S. researchers.Ultrahigh-resolution imaging has been criticized for depending on high radiation doses to compensate for a comb filter that blocks up to three-quarters of its detecting surface. Researchers from Emory University Hospital in Atlanta turned to lowering voxel size instead of applying a comb filter to enhance the spatial resolution of images without such elevated exposure.
They used UHR photon-counting CT to acquire scans of the brain and lungs of eight volunteers. Reconstruction of the scans at a 0.25-mm voxel size increased image resolution from 9 to 19 line pairs per cm (LP/cm). Moreover, UHR scans acquired using a voxel size of 0.5 mm displayed 20% less noise than standard resolution scans with the same parameters.
Acquiring ultrahigh-resolution photon-counting CT scans this way provides the advantages of lower dose levels compared with UHR scans that use a comb filter, as well as less image noise compared with standard-resolution scans, according to presenter Amir Pourmorteza, PhD.
UHR photon-counting CT may thus be a viable option for extremely high-quality images at acceptable dose levels, he concluded.
![Images show the pectoralis muscles of a healthy male individual who never smoked (age, 66 years; height, 178 cm; body mass index [BMI, calculated as weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared], 28.4; number of cigarette pack-years, 0; forced expiratory volume in 1 second [FEV1], 97.6% predicted; FEV1: forced vital capacity [FVC] ratio, 0.71; pectoralis muscle area [PMA], 59.4 cm2; pectoralis muscle volume [PMV], 764 cm3) and a male individual with a smoking history and chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD) (age, 66 years; height, 178 cm; BMI, 27.5; number of cigarette pack-years, 43.2, FEV1, 48% predicted; FEV1:FVC, 0.56; PMA, 35 cm2; PMV, 480.8 cm3) from the Canadian Cohort Obstructive Lung Disease (i.e., CanCOLD) study. The CT image is shown in the axial plane. The PMV is automatically extracted using the developed deep learning model and overlayed onto the lungs for visual clarity.](https://img.auntminnie.com/mindful/smg/workspaces/default/uploads/2026/03/genkin.25LqljVF0y.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&crop=focalpoint&dpr=2&fit=crop&h=167&q=70&w=250)
