Can fully iterative reconstruction technique enable routine abdominal CT at less than 1 mSv?

Abstract

Objective: We assessed the effect of the forward projected model-based reconstruction technique (FIRST) on lesion detection of routine abdomen CT at 25.8 kg/m2. Diagnostic confidence for lesion assessment was optimal in LD-FIRST-STD setting in most patients regardless of their size. The inter-observer agreement (kappa-value) for overall image quality were 0.98 and 0.84 for LD-FIRST-STD and STR levels, respectively. Conclusion: FIRST enabled optimal lesion detection in routine abdomen CT at less than 1 mSv radiation dose in patients with body mass less than ≤25.8 kg/m2. Keywords: Iterative reconstruction, Forward projected model-based, Filtered back projection, Sub-milli-Sievert, Radiation dose, CT abdomen