Image quality with iterative reconstruction techniques in CT of the lungs?A phantom study

Background Iterative reconstruction techniques for reducing radiation dose and improving image quality in CT have proved to work differently for different patient sizes, dose levels, and anatomical areas. Purpose This study aims to compare image quality in CT of the lungs between four high-end CT scanners using the recommended reconstruction techniques at different dose levels and patient sizes. Material and methods A lung phantom and an image quality phantom were scanned with four high-end scanners at fixed dose levels. Images were reconstructed with and without iterative reconstruction. Contrast-to-noise ratio, modulation transfer function, and peak frequency of the noise power spectrum were measured. Results IMR1 Sharp+ and VEO improved contrast-to-noise ratio to a larger extent than the other iterative techniques, while maintaining spatial resolution. IMR1 Sharp+ also maintained noise texture. Conclusions IMR1 Sharp+ was the only reconstruction technique in this study which increased CNR to a large extent, while maintaining all other image quality parameters measured in this study