Intra-patient variability of iodine quantification across different dual-energy CT platforms: assessment of normalization techniques

ConclusionsWe found tissue-specific intra-patient variability of IC across different DECT scanner types. Normalization mitigated variability by reducing physiological fluctuations in iodine distribution.  After normalization, the scanner type still had a significant effect on iodine variability in the pancreas and liver.Clinical relevance statementDifferences in iodine quantification between dual-energy CT scanners can partly be mitigated by normalization, yet remain relevant for specific tissues and inter-scanner comparisons, which should be taken into account at clinical routine imaging.Key Points•Iodine concentration showed the least variability between scanner types in the kidneys (range 10.92 –15.76%) and highest variability in the liver (range 22.85–29.08%).•Normalizing tissue-specific iodine concentrations against the overall iodine load yielded the greatest reduction of variability between scanner types for 2/3 inter-scanner comparisons in the liver and for all (3/3) inter-scanner comparisons in the kidneys and pancreas, respectively.•However, even after normalization, the dual-energy CT scanner type was found to be the factor significantly influencing variability of iodine concentration in the liver and pancreas.
Source: European Radiology - Category: Radiology Source Type: research