Dynamic computed tomography of locally advanced pancreatic cancer: effect of low tube voltage and a hybrid iterative reconstruction algorithm on image quality.

Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of a low-tube-voltage technique and hybrid iterative reconstruction (HIR) on image quality at dynamic computed tomography (CT) of the pancreas.
Methods: The study included 18 consecutive patients (10 women, 8 men; mean age, 68.5 ± 9.5 years) with locally advanced pancreatic cancer who received chemotherapy and had stable disease during the 100- and 120-kV CT studies. The 120-kV images were reconstructed using filtered back projection, and the 100-kV images were postprocessed using filtered back projection and HIR. Scans obtained during 3 pancreatic phases were subjected to quantitative and qualitative analysis.
Results: The mean effective dose was significantly lower under the 100- than the 120-kV protocols (29.2 ± 3.6 vs 52.1 ± 5.1 mSv; P < 0.01). The mean contrast-to-noise ratio of the pancreatic cancer and the visual scores were significantly higher under 100 kV with HIR than those under the other 2 protocols (P < 0.01).
Conclusions: Use of low tube voltage and HIR can provide significantly improved image quality at pancreatic dynamic CT.