Prediction of optimal injection protocol for tumor detection in contrast-enhanced dynamic hepatic CT using simulation of lesion-to-liver contrast difference
✍ Scribed by S. Kim; J.H. Kim; J.K. Han; K.H. Lee; B.-G. Min
- Publisher
- Elsevier Science
- Year
- 2000
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 265 KB
- Volume
- 24
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 0895-6111
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✦ Synopsis
The detection of hepatic lesions in computed tomography (CT) is improved when a contrasting material is administered intravenously, but it depends considerably on how this agent is injected. In this study, we constructed a compartment model for a liver containing a hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and simulated the difference in lesion-to-liver contrast enhancement. Using this model, we simulated the effects of various injection factors on the detectability of a lesion and searched for the optimal injection protocol for detecting tumors in contrastenhanced dynamic hepatic CTs. We found that the mass injection rate, or k-value (in mg/s), (which is the volume injection rate, in ml/s, multiplied by the contrast agent concentration, in mg/ml) plays a critical role in the injection protocol optimized for tumor detection, and has a unique value for a given body weight independent of the total injection dose.