Article Series: Dual Energy CT – Scientific Evidence and Clinical Application (7/7) – Outlook
This article is part of the seven-article series on “Dual Energy CT – Scientific Evidence and Clinical Application” and gives an outlook on Dual Energy CT in clinical CT imaging.
The complete review about Dual Energy CT will be available for download in pdf format soon, and will be announced on www.dsct.com.
Outlook
Within some four years, Dual Energy CT has achieved a significant role in clinical CT imaging. The method works largely without additional dose and provides significant additional diagnostic information. Given the specificity and functional aspect of this information, CT is gaining value in disease characterization beyond mere morphological assessment. In some aspects like multi-phase exams, Dual Energy CT can help to reduce the radiation exposure. Also, it can replace some exams such as lung ventilation and perfusion scintigraphy and avoid the associated dose.
In future, new x-ray sources with narrower spectra or energy resolving detectors may increase the contrast to noise ratio or make the differentiation of several atoms feasible. This would further increase the number of protocols in actual clinical application and could greatly improve sensitivity and specificity e.g. in oncological imaging.
I hope that this review provides a comprehensive overview of the clinical value and current state of knowledge for radiologists interested in this new modality. For further background and detailed protocols and settings I can recommend our textbook “Dual Energy CT in Clinical Practice” which recently appeared.
