title: Low-Dose Carotid Computed Tomography Angiography Using Pure Iterative Reconstruction.
abstract: The aim of this study was to assess if a low-dose carotid computed tomography angiography (CTA) performed with pure iterative reconstruction (IR) is comparable to a conventional dose CTA protocol.
  
  
  METHODS
  Twenty patients were included. Radiation dose was divided into a low-dose acquisition reconstructed with pure IR and a conventional dose acquisition reconstructed with 40% hybrid IR. Dose, image noise, contrast resolution, spatial resolution, and carotid artery stenosis were measured.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Mean effective dose was significantly lower for low-dose than conventional dose studies (1.84 versus 3.71 mSv; P < 0.001). Subjective image noise, contrast resolution, and spatial resolution were significantly higher for the low-dose studies. There was excellent agreement for stenosis grading accuracy between low- and conventional dose studies (Cohen κ = 0.806).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A low-dose carotid CTA protocol reconstructed with pure IR is comparable to a conventional dose CTA protocol in terms of image quality and diagnostic accuracy while enabling a dose reduction of 49.6%.
authors.affiliation: From the Departments of *Radiology, †Vascular Surgery, and ‡Neuroradiology, Cork University Hospital, Cork, Ireland.
authors.forename: Fiachra
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Moloney
authors.forename: Kevin P
authors.initials: KP
authors.lastname: Murphy
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Twomey
authors.forename: Lee
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Crush
authors.forename: Emma M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Canniffe
authors.forename: Patrick D
authors.initials: PD
authors.lastname: McLaughlin
authors.forename: Niamh
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Moore
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: OʼKeeffe
authors.forename: Siobhan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: OʼNeill
authors.forename: Brian M
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Manning
authors.forename: Gerald
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Wyse
authors.forename: Noel
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Fanning
authors.forename: Owen J
authors.initials: OJ
authors.lastname: OʼConnor
authors.forename: Michael M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Maher
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D002339:Carotid Arteries / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D016893:Carotid Stenosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D000072226:Computed Tomography Angiography / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011829:Radiation Dosage; D000069079:Radiation Exposure / Q000032:analysis* / Q000517:prevention & control; D011835:Radiation Protection / Q000379:methods*; D011856:Radiographic Image Enhancement / Q000379:methods; D011857:Radiographic Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity