Feasibility study of using virtual non-contrast images derived from dual-energy CT to replace true non-contrast images in patients diagnosed with papillary thyroid carcinoma

OBJECTIVE: To assess the feasibility of using virtual non-contrast (VNC) images derived from dual-energy computed tomography (DECT) to replace true non-contrast (TNC) images of papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) patients. METHODS: Images of 96 PTC patients were retrospectively analyzed. TNC images were acquired under the single-energy mode of DECT after the plain scanning. The arterial and venous phase VNC (VNC-a and VNC-v) images were generated by the post-processing algorithm from the arterial phase and venous phase of contrast-enhanced CT images, respectively. Mean attenuation values, image noise, number and length of calcification were measured. Radiation dose was also calculated. Last, subjective score of image quality was evaluated by a 5-point scale. RESULTS: Signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of each tissue in TNC images is significantly higher than that of VNC images (p