Micro-radiation CT imaging platform—Xingguang iDose4 and its clinical application

    With the advantages of convenience and non-invasiveness, CT examinations have been increasingly widely used in clinical practice and have become the main source of medical radiation dose. Therefore, in order to control and reduce the radiation dose of CT examinations, researchers have made many improvements to the hardware and software of CT, such as reducing the tube current (mAs), increasing the pitch (Pitch), and reducing the tube voltage (kV). However, these methods all reduce the radiation dose by improving the X-ray acquisition link, and their effectiveness is limited and gradually reaching a bottleneck. Therefore, researchers turned to changing the "way of thinking" of CT, that is, the image reconstruction mode, such as using iterative reconstruction technology and equipped with a powerful computing platform, so that CT can complete high-quality imaging with very little sampling data, thereby achieving a significant reduction in the radiation dose of CT examinations.

　　At present, all major CT manufacturers are developing and promoting products around iterative reconstruction technology. Philips' fourth-generation reconstruction technology, Starlight iDose ⁴ , is the most advanced and mature representative. Compared with other technologies, Starlight iDose ⁴ takes dual-space multi-model rapid iteration as its technical core, which not only achieves a significant reduction in radiation dose, but also avoids the disadvantages of image texture changes (wax-like artifacts) caused by other technologies, and solves the problems of extremely slow reconstruction speed faced by other technologies.

The fourth generation of dual-space multi-model iterative reconstruction technology

　　How to reduce the dependence of reconstructed image quality on the amount of signal data has always been the core focus of CT development. According to the technical principles of the reconstruction algorithm and its impact on clinical imaging results, CT reconstruction technology can be roughly divided into four generations.

　　The first generation is the filtered projection method (FBP), which is the mainstream algorithm of CT at present. Its advantages are fast reconstruction speed and low cost of image reconstruction system; its disadvantage is serious loss of image quality under low-dose conditions, so it must pay the price of high radiation dose in clinical application.

　　The second generation is a quasi-iterative technology, which can be seen as an improvement on FBP. However, since it cannot remove various low-photon artifacts caused by the reduction of effective X-ray photons at low doses, its effect in reducing radiation dose is limited, and there is a certain loss of image quality, which limits its clinical use.

　　The third generation is a primary iterative reconstruction algorithm, which is characterized by iterative operations in data space and image space based on statistical principles, but lacks a complete multi-model system for comparative iterative operations. Therefore, it is easy to cause changes and drifts in noise frequency, and corresponding wax-like artifacts will appear in clinical images.

　　The fourth generation is advanced iterative reconstruction technology, and Starlight iDose ⁴ is the industry's first fourth-generation iterative reconstruction technology for clinical application. Its core feature is dual-space multi-model, which eliminates low-photon artifacts, reduces image noise, and improves image resolution without changing image texture by performing iterative operations based on noise model systems and anatomical model systems in dual spaces - projection space and image space.

　　Therefore, the Starlight iDose ⁴ platform has four major clinical advantages: (1) It reduces radiation dose by 80% while ensuring image quality; (2) It increases image resolution by 68%, significantly improving CT image display capabilities; (3) It prevents artifacts and improves CT image quality; (4) It is equipped with Philips' unique RapidView IR image reconstruction platform, with an iterative reconstruction speed of up to 24 frames/s, fully meeting clinical scanning needs such as emergency departments.

　　

　　
Microradiation imaging defines new standards for CT clinical applications

　　Starlight iDose ⁴ can obtain high-definition images with extremely small radiation doses, which redefines the new standard for CT clinical applications and realizes new clinical applications and breakthroughs.

　　First, this enables the smooth implementation of physical examination screening programs for coronary heart disease, cerebral aneurysm, and lung cancer, which were previously troubled by radiation doses. Second, this can significantly improve the image quality of small lesions or in extreme conditions (obese patients, etc.), and because it is a low-kV examination based on low-dose imaging, it is more sensitive to the display after contrast agent enhancement, which is conducive to the early detection of lesions. Thirdly, this will greatly save the use of contrast agents, greatly reduce the risk of contrast agent injury that has plagued CT enhancement applications, and expand the scope of application of the examination. In addition, special applications that previously required high radiation doses, such as perfusion, large-scale multi-organ joint scanning, etc., will be able to be routinely applied, and various follow-up CT examinations, such as regular follow-up examinations of small lung nodules, will also be safer and more secure.

　　Therefore, the launch of Starlight iDose ⁴ has directly benefited many clinical application fields: (1) CT physical examination: Due to the significant reduction in radiation dose, various types of CT physical examinations can be carried out smoothly; (2) Cardiovascular application: Coronary CTA screening will be feasible; (3) Pediatric application: Due to the reduction in radiation dose, the limitations of CT application in pediatrics have been significantly broken through; (4) Tumor application: Low-dose early tumor screening will greatly improve the early detection rate of tumors, and preoperative tumor evaluation, follow-up and post-treatment review will be easy to carry out; (5) Large-range imaging, perfusion imaging, and low-kV imaging based on low-dose levels will open up new CT clinical and scientific research applications.

　　Currently, clinical applications in more than a thousand hospitals around the world have verified that Philips Starlight iDose ⁴ can achieve high-quality CT imaging with extremely small radiation doses, breaking through the traditional constraints of low-dose CT imaging and ushering in a new era of micro-radiation CT imaging, providing doctors and patients with safer and higher-quality CT clinical examinations.