Usefulness of Ag Additional Filter on Image Quality and Radiation Dose for Low-Dose Chest Computed Tomography

Abstract

Objective This study aimed to evaluate the effect of a silver (Ag) additional filter on dose characteristics and image quality in low-dose chest computed tomography (CT). Methods A dose evaluation phantom, physical evaluation phantom, and chest phantom were scanned with and without an Ag additional filter. The doses were adjusted so that the displayed the volume CT dose indexes (CTDIvol) were from 0.3 to 1.6 mGy. For dose characteristics, the spectrum of photon energies and the measured CTDIvol were calculated for each scanning condition. For task-based image quality analysis, task transfer function, noise power spectrum, and system performance were evaluated. Streak artifacts, image noise, and contrast-to-noise ratio were quantified using a chest phantom. Results With the Ag additional filter, mean energy was 22% higher and the CTDIvol was approximately 30% lower than those without the Ag additional filter. The task transfer function and noise power spectrum with the Ag additional filter were lower than those without the Ag additional filter. The system performance with the Ag additional filter was similar to that without the Ag additional filter. The Ag additional filter reduced streak artifact near the lung apex and image noise in the lung fields. The contrast-to-noise ratio was slightly higher with the Ag additional filter than that without the Ag additional filter. Conclusions The output dose and spatial resolution with the Ag additional filter were lower than those without the Ag additional filter. However, this filter helped reduce the radiation dose, image noise, and streak artifacts, particularly when scanning at ultralow doses.