Secret History: Return of the Black Death Channel 4, 7-8pm In 1348 the Black Death swept through London, killing people within days of the appearance of their first symptoms. Exactly how many died, and why, has long been a mystery. This Secret History documentary follows experts as they pick through the evidence and reveal why the plague killed on such a scale. And they ask, what might be coming next?

Medscape

Chapter 1: CT: An Overview Chapter 2: Digital Image Processing Chapter 3: Physical Principles of CT Chapter 4: Data Acquisition Chapter 5: Image Reconstruction Chapter 6: Iterative Reconstruction Fundamentals Chapter 7: Basic Instrumentation Chapter 8: Image Post Processing Chapter 9: Image Quality Chapter 10: Radiation Dose Chapter 11: MuliSlice CT Principles Chapter 12: Other Technical Applications Chapter 13: Three-Dimensional CT Chapter 14: PET/SPECT CT Chapter 15: CT of the Head, Neck, and Spine Chapter 16: CT of the Body Chapter 17: Pediatric CT Chapter 18: Quality Control for CT Scanners Appendix A: Spiral Versus Helical Appendix B: Historical Look at Specific Features of CT Scanners Appendix C: Physics of Cardiac Imaging with Multiple-Row Detector CT

Computed Tomography physical princiles,Clinical Aplication and Quality Control

A comprehensive review of dual-energy and multi-spectral computed tomography.

Objective:This study aimed (1) to perform a systematic review on scanning parameters and contrast medium (CM) reduction methods used in prospectively electrocardiography (ECG-triggered low tube voltage coronary CT angiography (CCTA), (2) to compare the achievable dose reduction and image quality and (3) to propose appropriate scanning techniques and CM administration methods.Methods:A systematic search was performed in PubMed, the Cochrane library, CINAHL, Web of Science, ScienceDirect and Scopus, where 20 studies were selected for analysis of scanning parameters and CM reduction methods.Results:The mean effective dose (HE) ranged from 0.31 to 2.75 mSv at 80 kVp, 0.69 to 6.29 mSv at 100 kVp and 1.53 to 10.7 mSv at 120 kVp. Radiation dose reductions of 38 to 83% at 80 kVp and 3 to 80% at 100 kVp could be achieved with preserved image quality. Similar vessel contrast enhancement to 120 kVp could be obtained by applying iodine delivery rate (IDR) of 1.35 to 1.45 g s−1 with total iodine dose (TID) of between ...

/pdf/low-tube-voltage-prospectively-ecg-triggered-coronary-ct-37ll904nxt.pdf

Low tube voltage prospectively ECG-triggered coronary CT angiography: a systematic review of image quality and radiation dose.

INTRODUCTION 3D-printed imaging phantoms are now increasingly available and used for computed tomography (CT) dose optimisation study and image quality analysis. The aim of this study was to evaluate the integrated 3D-printed cardiac insert phantom when evaluating iterative reconstruction (IR) algorithm in coronary CT angiography (CCTA) protocols. METHODS The 3D-printed cardiac insert phantom was positioned into a chest phantom and scanned with a 16-slice CT scanner. Acquisitions were performed with CCTA protocols using 120 kVp at four different tube currents, 300, 200, 100 and 50 mA (protocols A, B, C and D, respectively). The image data sets were reconstructed with a filtered back projection (FBP) and three different IR algorithm strengths. The image quality metrics of image noise, signal-noise ratio (SNR) and contrast-noise ratio (CNR) were calculated for each protocol. RESULTS Decrease in dose levels has significantly increased the image noise, compared to FBP of protocol A (P < 0.001). As a result, the SNR and CNR were significantly decreased (P < 0.001). For FBP, the highest noise with poor SNR and CNR was protocol D with 19.0 ± 1.6 HU, 18.9 ± 2.5 and 25.1 ± 3.6, respectively. For IR algorithm, the highest strength (AIDR3Dstrong ) yielded the lowest noise with excellent SNR and CNR. CONCLUSIONS The use of IR algorithm and increasing its strengths have reduced noise significantly and thus increased the SNR and CNR when compared to FBP. Therefore, this integrated 3D-printed phantom approach could be used for dose optimisation study and image quality analysis in CCTA protocols.

Evaluation of an integrated 3D-printed phantom for coronary CT angiography using iterative reconstruction algorithm.

https://www.radiographyonline.com/article/S1078-8174(15)00016-4/pdf

Maintaining image quality and reducing dose in prospectively-triggered CT coronary angiography: A systematic review of the use of iterative reconstruction

Iain Armstrong

Papers

Maintaining image quality and reducing dose in prospectively-triggered CT coronary angiography: A systematic review of the use of iterative reconstruction