Objective:To find the optimal blending center and blending width to improve the im-age quality of the abdominal artery by using a non-linear blending method.Methods:Retrospectively analyze the imaging data of 80 patients who underwent whole-abdomen dual-energy CT enhancement.Use linear blending images as the control group and non-linear blending images as the experimental group.The blending width ω is fixed at 0HU,and by adjusting the value of blending center λ,NLB is divided into four groups(NLB1:λ=0HU,NLB2:λ=150HU,NLB3:λ=250HU,NLB4:λ=350HU).Unpaired arteries in the abdomen(coeliac trunk,superior mesenteric artery and inferior mesenteric ar-tery)were selected as the observation objects.CT values,signal-to-noise ratio(SNR)and contrast-to-noise ratio(CNR)of the region of interest(ROI)at the bifurcation of the three vessels in 5 groups of images were compared for each patient.The two groups with the highest and lowest SNR and CNR in NLB1～4(NLB1,NLB4)and LB were scored subjectively.Results:The CT values,SNR and CNR of NLB1～4 groups were higher than those in the LB group(P＜0.001).In the NLB1～4 group of coeliac trunk and superior mesenteric artery,the CT values,SNR and CNR of NLB1～3 were higher than NLB4(P＜0.001),NLB1＞NLB2＞NLB3,there was no statistical difference in CT value,SNR and CNR among NLB1,NLB2 and NLB3 groups(P＞0.05).In the inferior mesenteric artery,the CT val-ues,SNR and CNR of NLB1 and NLB2 were higher than those of NLB3 and NLB4(P＜0.05),NLB1＞NLB2,with no statistically significant difference(P＞0.05);the CT value of NLB3 was higher than NLB4(P＜0.05);the SNR and CNR of NLB3 were higher than NLB4,with no statistically significant difference(P＞0.05).The noise of NLB1～4 groups was lower than LB,the difference was statistically significant(P＜0.01),but there was no statistically significant difference between NLB1～4 groups(P＞0.05).The distinguished achiever ratio of subjective scores of NLB1,NLB4 and LB were all grea-ter than 80％,NLB1＞NLB4＞LB,the difference was statistically significant(P＜0.05).The consis-tency of subjective scores between the two physicians was good(ICC values were both greater than 0.75).Conclusion:The dual-source dual-energy CT nonlinear fusion technology has significant advanta-ges in abdominal vascular imaging.When the blending center and blending width are both set to 0HU,the NLB can significantly improve the image quality of abdominal artery,especially for non-heavy-weight patients.
维普
万方数据
