Features Partner Sites Information LinkXpress hp
Sign In
Advertise with Us
GLOBETECH PUBLISHING LLC

Download Mobile App




Spectral CT Helps Detect Early-Stage COVID-19

By MedImaging International staff writers
Posted on 04 Nov 2020
Image: Initial conventional axial CT image (A), Spectral ED image clearly showing GGO lesions, and conventional axial CT image two days after images A and B (C). (Photo courtesy of AJR)
Image: Initial conventional axial CT image (A), Spectral ED image clearly showing GGO lesions, and conventional axial CT image two days after images A and B (C). (Photo courtesy of AJR)
A new study suggests using spectral CT with electron density (ED) imaging can indicate the extent of ground-glass lung opacity (GGO) in COVID-19 patients with early-stage disease.

Researchers at Antony's Private Hospital (Antony, France) conducted a retrospective study to assess the potential benefit of spectral imaging in the assessment of lung lesions caused by COVID-19. To do so, they examined data from spectral CT scans conducted in four patients with confirmed COVID-19. The spectral CT images were reconstructed using the standard soft kernel (filter B) and an iterative method used to capture conventional CT images. They then compared the initial conventional CT images with the follow-up ones.

All 45 GGOs identified in the four patients showed up better on the ED images than on the conventional initial CT scans, with the follow-up conventional CT scans confirming the presence of the GGOs. In addition, the results showed that lesion extent, as assessed using a semi-quantitative reporting scale denoting surface area involvement for each lobe, was much easier to determine on the ED images. The study was published on October 21, 2020, in the American Journal of Roentgenology.

“ED imaging may improve the detection of early-stage COVID-19, a stage for which conventional CT has shown limited sensitivity for detection. Spectral CT may also provide a better assessment of the extent of the lung lesions,” said lead author Beatrice Daoud, MD, of the department of radiology. “This study marks the first time investigators have looked into whether spectral CT scans can improve providers’ abilities to assess lung lesion extent.”

Spectral CT, also known as dual-energy CT, measures tissue attenuation at two different energy levels, allowing computation of the two physical effects responsible for x-ray attenuation, the photoelectric effect and Compton scatter. Multiple spectral images can be created that show the attenuation that would result from a monochromatic x-ray source, iodine maps, effective atomic number maps, and ED maps. These spectral data have been shown to improve contrast enhancement, reduce artifacts, and better characterize tissues.

Related Links:
Antony's Private Hospital

New
Floor‑Mounted Digital X‑Ray System
MasteRad MX30+
40/80-Slice CT System
uCT 528
Mammography System (Analog)
MAM VENUS
Medical Radiographic X-Ray Machine
TR30N HF

Channels

Nuclear Medicine

view channel
Image: Perovskite crystal boules are grown in carefully controlled conditions from the melt (Photo courtesy of Mercouri Kanatzidis/Northwestern University)

New Camera Sees Inside Human Body for Enhanced Scanning and Diagnosis

Nuclear medicine scans like single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) allow doctors to observe heart function, track blood flow, and detect hidden diseases. However, current detectors are either... Read more

General/Advanced Imaging

view channel
Image: The Angio-CT solution integrates the latest advances in interventional imaging (Photo courtesy of Canon Medical)

Cutting-Edge Angio-CT Solution Offers New Therapeutic Possibilities

Maintaining accuracy and safety in interventional radiology is a constant challenge, especially as complex procedures require both high precision and efficiency. Traditional setups often involve multiple... Read more

Imaging IT

view channel
Image: The new Medical Imaging Suite makes healthcare imaging data more accessible, interoperable and useful (Photo courtesy of Google Cloud)

New Google Cloud Medical Imaging Suite Makes Imaging Healthcare Data More Accessible

Medical imaging is a critical tool used to diagnose patients, and there are billions of medical images scanned globally each year. Imaging data accounts for about 90% of all healthcare data1 and, until... Read more
Copyright © 2000-2025 Globetech Media. All rights reserved.