Pilot application of statistical iterative reconstruction and automatic tube current modulation in adult low-dose pelvic CT

Objective To investigate the feasibility of reducing the radiation dose in adult pelvic CT using automatic tube current modulation (ATCM) and adaptive statistical iterative reconstruction (ASIR).Methods Totally 45 patients who underwent routine and low-dose pelvic CT examination were enrolled in our study.Three groups of images were acquired:group A (routine scan with FBP reconstruction) ;group B1 (low-dose with ASIR0) and group B2 (low-dose with ASIR50％).The scores of image quality was abtained by two radiologists.Results The CTDIvol,DLP and E of group B were significantly reduced respectively(t =12.30,12.10,12.15,P ＜ 0.05) compared with group A.Group B1 had higher noise(t =9.14,8.95,P ＜ 0.05)and lower score,SNR and CNR(t =8.72,10.62,11.83 and 8.40,9.55,11.42,P ＜ 0.05) than the others.And there was no difference in image quality between group A and group B2.Conclusions Using automatic tube current modulation and adaptive statistical iterative reconstruction could significantly reduce the noise but keep the image quality in adult pelvic CT examination. Key words: Pelvic cavity ;  Tomography;  X-ray computed ;  Low dose ;  Iterative reconstruction