Dual-energy CTはすごい

Dual-energy CTは管球を二つ持つCTのことで獣医業界では普及していません。（いやいるかも・・・！）利点は簡単に言うと二つあります。１．2倍の早さで撮影することができます。２．2つの管球のエネルギーを変えることでX線の質を変えてより2種類のデーターを得ることができ組織解像度を上げることができると言うことあります。
さて、これは通風の緊急時の撮影にこのDual-energy CTが役に立ったと言うことなのです。通常のCTいわゆる今のマルチチャンネルのヘリカルCTでは診断ができなかった慢性の通風を診断することができたということですね。多分この場合、上の利点の２．方の利点である組織解像度の向上が役に立っていること言うことみたいですね。
一般的には微細な石灰化などの発見に役立っているようですね。早く値段が安くなって獣医業界でも持っている人が出ないかと期待しています。
以下参考までに・・・。
American College of Radiology / American Roentgen Ray Society
Dual-energy CT accurately diagnoses gout in acute, emergency settings
A medical imaging technique called dual-energy computed tomography (CT) is an effective and reliable way to diagnose gout in the acute, emergency setting, according to a study published in the April issue of the American Journal of Roentgenology (www.ajronline.org). Dual-energy CT is an advanced medical imaging technique that can detect vessels and bones and display them in clear contrast to one another. It enables physicians to diagnose many patients’ conditions faster and more accurately as it can better characterize tissue composition better than conventional CT.
Gout is an extremely painful kind of arthritis that occurs when uric acid builds up in and around the joints. “Doctors often use clinical features to diagnose gout, however many other diseases can mimic or coexist with it and conventional imaging techniques like X-rays, ultrasound, and conventional CT are not specific enough to facilitate a diagnosis,” said Savvakis Nicolaou, MD, lead author of the study.
The study, performed at Vancouver General Hospital in Vancouver, BC, included five cases in which the diagnosis for gout was made or excluded on the basis of dual-energy CT. “In every case, conventional imaging techniques were used before applying advanced dual-energy CT technology, however we were not able to make a diagnosis based solely upon those findings,” said Nicolaou.
“To our knowledge, dual-energy CT is the only imaging method described to date that can confirm the diagnosis of topheceaous (or chronic) gout with high accuracy,” he said.
“Dual-energy CT is an exciting problem-solving tool that can reliably diagnose the presence of topheceaous gout, therereby expediting patient treatment, potentially reducing the burden of chronic complications associated with gout,” said Nicolaou.
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This study appears in the April issue of the American Journal of Roentgenology. For a copy of the full study or to request an interview with Dr. Nicolaou, please contact Heather Curry via email at hcurry@acr-arrs.org or at 703-390-9822.