TY  - JOUR
A1  - Koch, Vitali
A1  - Yel, Ibrahim
A1  - Grünewald, Leon David
A1  - Beckers, Sebastian
A1  - Burck, Iris
A1  - Lenga, Lukas Fabian
A1  - Martin, Simon S.
A1  - Mader, Christoph
A1  - Wichmann, Julian
A1  - Albrecht, Moritz Hans Ernst
A1  - Eichler, Katrin
A1  - Gruber-Rouh, Tatjana
A1  - D’Angelo, Tommaso
A1  - Mazziotti, Silvio
A1  - Ascenti, Giorgio
A1  - Vogl, Thomas J.
A1  - Booz, Christian
T1  - Assessment of thoracic disk herniation by using virtual noncalcium dual-energy CT in comparison with standard grayscale CT
T2  - European radiology
N2  - Objectives: To determine the diagnostic accuracy of dual-energy CT (DECT) virtual noncalcium (VNCa) reconstructions for assessing thoracic disk herniation compared to standard grayscale CT. Methods: In this retrospective study, 87 patients (1131 intervertebral disks; mean age, 66 years; 47 women) who underwent third-generation dual-source DECT and 3.0-T MRI within 3 weeks between November 2016 and April 2020 were included. Five blinded radiologists analyzed standard DECT and color-coded VNCa images after a time interval of 8 weeks for the presence and degree of thoracic disk herniation and spinal nerve root impingement. Consensus reading of independently evaluated MRI series served as the reference standard, assessed by two separate experienced readers. Additionally, image ratings were carried out by using 5-point Likert scales. Results: MRI revealed a total of 133 herniated thoracic disks. Color-coded VNCa images yielded higher overall sensitivity (624/665 [94%; 95% CI, 0.89–0.96] vs 485/665 [73%; 95% CI, 0.67–0.80]), specificity (4775/4990 [96%; 95% CI, 0.90–0.98] vs 4066/4990 [82%; 95% CI, 0.79–0.84]), and accuracy (5399/5655 [96%; 95% CI, 0.93–0.98] vs 4551/5655 [81%; 95% CI, 0.74–0.86]) for the assessment of thoracic disk herniation compared to standard CT (all p < .001). Interrater agreement was excellent for VNCa and fair for standard CT (ϰ = 0.82 vs 0.37; p < .001). In addition, VNCa imaging achieved higher scores regarding diagnostic confidence, image quality, and noise compared to standard CT (all p < .001). Conclusions: Color-coded VNCa imaging yielded substantially higher diagnostic accuracy and confidence for assessing thoracic disk herniation compared to standard CT.
KW  - Tomography
KW  - X-ray computed
KW  - Intervertebral disc displacement
KW  - Image processing
KW  - computer-assisted
KW  - Spine
Y1  - 2021
UR  - http://publikationen.ub.uni-frankfurt.de/frontdoor/index/index/docId/63621
UR  - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:hebis:30:3-636215
SN  - 1432-1084
SN  - 1613-3757
N1  - Open Access funding enabled and organized by Projekt DEAL.
VL  - 31.2021
IS  - 12
SP  - 9221
EP  - 9231
PB  - Springer
CY  - Berlin ; Heidelberg
ER  -