Clinical application of ultra-low-dose chest CT in the follow-up of pulmonary nodules

SUN Yun; JI Congshan; WANG Ximing

doi:10.20258/j.cnki.1006-9011.2025.01.014

Abstract：Objective To investigate the clinical diagnostic value of 80 kV combined with Artificial-Intelligence Iterative Re-construction(AIIR)in the follow-up diagnosis of pulmonary nodules in physical examination patients.Methods Chest CT im-ages of 174 patients were retrospectively collected at 80 kV combined with deep learning iterative reconstruction technology and 120 kV,the volumetric CT dose index(CTDIvol)and dose-length product(DLP)of the two cases were compared,the effective radiation dose(ED)was calculated,and the quality of the two images was subjectively evaluated by a four-point method.At the same time,508 nodules in 174 patients were included,and they were divided into three groups according to density:solid,sub-solid and ground-glass,and the differences in nodule diameter and volume under different voltages were compared.Results Compared with 120 kV,DLP,CTDIvol and ED were significantly reduced in the 80 kV group(all P<0.01).There was no signifi-cant comparison of subjective scores between the two groups(P>0.05).There was no significant difference in the diameter and volume of pulmonary nodules between the three groups at the two voltages(all P>0.05).Conclusion The 80 kV combined with AIIR can effectively reduce the radiation dose and accurately evaluate the diameter and volume of pulmonary nodules under the premise of ensuring image quality.