Evaluation and Comparison of Premium CT Scanners

Introduction: Computed tomography has made enormous technical advances since its introduction into clinical use in the late 1960s. The engineering improvements throughout the years have led to important clinical applications and large impact on patient care. New CT systems can image the entire brain or heart in a single gantry rotation and in as few as 0.25 seconds. It also can show 4D dynamic movements, such as real-time brain function or a heart beating. In dual-energy CT, each manufacturer has their own technical approaches to acquire CT data with spectral information, allowing the differentiation of multiple materials, which allows quantification of the mass density of two or three different materials. CT manufacturers have also developed a variety of strategies for lowering radiation dose without compromising image quality. A model-based iterative reconstruction algorithm is one of many recent developments to address this issue.
Methods: Specification comparison was done in order to find clinical examinations for subjective assessment of radiologists and technologists. For radiation dose reduction, an image quality phantom was used. The phantom includes multiple modules for assessment of CT imaging performance such as CT numbers, spatial resolution, low contrast resolution, and uniformity.
Results and conclusions: The results from our study indicate that a correct division into categories, based on specification comparison, and not relying on the manufacturer declaration, can minimize the differences between the manufactures, although there is still a small difference.
Understanding the needs of the facilities and the patients they serve is the first step that should be taken before acquiring a premium CT scanner. Acquiring the new generation of CT technology can open new doors through new clinical applications, leading to healthier patients. With all of this, it is an infinitely more complex decision than buying a multi-slice CT scanner just a few years ago.