title: Liver computed tomography with low tube voltage and model-based iterative reconstruction algorithm for hepatic vessel evaluation in living liver donor candidates.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The objective of this study was to investigate the image quality and diagnostic performance of model-based iterative reconstruction (MBIR) for hepatic vessel evaluation on low-tube-voltage (100 kilovolt [peak]) liver computed tomography (CT) for living donors.
  
  
  METHODS
  Fifty-one liver donor candidates (low-kilovolt group) underwent low-tube-voltage CT, which was reconstructed using filtered back projection, adaptive statistical iterative reconstruction, and MBIR. Additional 51 donor candidates who underwent 120-kilovolt (peak) CT using FBP were selected as matching control (standard group). The volume CT dose index, image noise, contrast-to-noise ratios, diagnostic accuracy, and confidence of hepatic vasculatures were evaluated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Significant dose reduction was obtained with low-tube-voltage CT. The MBIR images of the low-kilovolt group showed significantly lower image noise and higher contrast-to-noise ratios than did the other image sets (P < 0.001). Regarding diagnostic accuracy and confidence of hepatic vessel anatomic variations with surgical correlation, the MBIR images provided results equivalent to those of other images (P > 0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Low-tube-voltage liver CT using MBIR may increase image quality and preserve diagnostic performance of hepatic vessel evaluation at reduced radiation dose.
authors.affiliation: From the *Department of Radiology, SMG-SNU Boramae Medical Center, Seoul, South Korea; †Department of Radiology, and ‡Institute of Radiation Medicine, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul, South Korea; §Department of Radiology, Konkuk University Medical Center, Seoul, South Korea.
authors.forename: Bo Yun
authors.initials: BY
authors.lastname: Hur
authors.forename: Jeong Min
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Ijin
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Joo
authors.forename: Mi Hye
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: Jeong Hee
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Yoon
authors.forename: Joon Koo
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Han
authors.forename: Byung Ihn
authors.initials: BI
authors.lastname: Choi
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000792:Angiography / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D006499:Hepatic Artery / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000637:transplantation; D006801:Humans; D007090:Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods*; D016031:Liver Transplantation / Q000379:methods*; D019520:Living Donors; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008954:Models, Biological; D011829:Radiation Dosage; D011835:Radiation Protection / Q000379:methods*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000379:methods*; D055815:Young Adult