UCSF

Dual energy computed tomography (DECT) has unique imaging capabilities with the potential to improve clinical diagnosis compared to conventional single energy CT. The impending development of novel contrast agents that can take advantage of the unique material differentiation capability of DECT could dramatically expand the diagnostic value of this technology. Unfortunately, clinical DECT systems show intersystem variations in contrast quantification. These inter-scanner differences have been recognized to a limited extent in the current literature. A polyurethane abdominal phantom containing various conventional and experimental contrast materials was constructed to quantify the variance in Hounsfield units (HU) across six clinically available DECT systems. The attenuation profiles of conventional and novel contrast materials presented in this study may serve as a means to correct for intersystem differences across the DECT systems examined.