Applicability of Effective Atomic Number (Zeff) Image Analysis of Coronary Plaques Measured With Photon- Counting Computed Tomography.

IF 8 1区医学 Q1 RADIOLOGY, NUCLEAR MEDICINE & MEDICAL IMAGING

Investigative Radiology Pub Date : 2025-09-22 DOI:10.1097/RLI.0000000000001237

Takashi Asahara, Mana Mitani, Natsumi Kimoto, Rina Nishigami, Kazuki Takegami, Yusuke Morimitsu, Noriaki Akagi, Toru Miyoshi, Yuki Kanazawa, Toshihiro Iguchi, Hiroaki Hayashi

{"title":"Applicability of Effective Atomic Number (Zeff) Image Analysis of Coronary Plaques Measured With Photon- Counting Computed Tomography.","authors":"Takashi Asahara, Mana Mitani, Natsumi Kimoto, Rina Nishigami, Kazuki Takegami, Yusuke Morimitsu, Noriaki Akagi, Toru Miyoshi, Yuki Kanazawa, Toshihiro Iguchi, Hiroaki Hayashi","doi":"10.1097/RLI.0000000000001237","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"Objective: Coronary computed tomography (CT) allows the assessment of cardiovascular risk by imaging calcified plaques in coronary arteries. Because photon-counting CT (PC-CT) can analyze the effective atomic number (Zeff) of the subject, it is expected to be applied to the analysis of plaque components. The purpose of this study was to investigate the applicability of plaque analysis based on Zeff images with continuous gradation.Methods: Zeff images were generated from virtual monoenergetic images (VMIs) obtained by PC-CT. Zeff values were derived from the difference between linear attenuation coefficients (μ) at low and high energies using an in-house program. Coronary CT images of 64 plaques in 10 patients were analyzed. The Zeff score, calculated as the sum of Zeff values within the plaque region, was calculated and compared with the conventional Agatston score and mean coronary artery calcium (CAC) score.Results: The systematic uncertainty of Zeff images was estimated to be ±0.08. The Zeff score of actual patient data showed strong positive correlations with the conventional Agatston and mean CAC scores. The Zeff score uses all voxel data in the plaque area, whereas conventional scores consider only data from voxels with a CT value >130. We found that the conventional scores excluded 39% of the plaque area, and the Zeff score permitted the analysis of low- and high-density plaques.Conclusions: Zeff imaging was shown to be applicable to plaque analysis that reflects the entire plaque volume. This study demonstrated its technical feasibility as a compositional analysis method using the Zeff image.","PeriodicalId":14486,"journal":{"name":"Investigative Radiology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":8.0000,"publicationDate":"2025-09-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Investigative Radiology","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1097/RLI.0000000000001237","RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"RADIOLOGY, NUCLEAR MEDICINE & MEDICAL IMAGING","Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Abstract

Objective: Coronary computed tomography (CT) allows the assessment of cardiovascular risk by imaging calcified plaques in coronary arteries. Because photon-counting CT (PC-CT) can analyze the effective atomic number (Zeff) of the subject, it is expected to be applied to the analysis of plaque components. The purpose of this study was to investigate the applicability of plaque analysis based on Zeff images with continuous gradation.

Methods: Zeff images were generated from virtual monoenergetic images (VMIs) obtained by PC-CT. Zeff values were derived from the difference between linear attenuation coefficients (μ) at low and high energies using an in-house program. Coronary CT images of 64 plaques in 10 patients were analyzed. The Zeff score, calculated as the sum of Zeff values within the plaque region, was calculated and compared with the conventional Agatston score and mean coronary artery calcium (CAC) score.

Results: The systematic uncertainty of Zeff images was estimated to be ±0.08. The Zeff score of actual patient data showed strong positive correlations with the conventional Agatston and mean CAC scores. The Zeff score uses all voxel data in the plaque area, whereas conventional scores consider only data from voxels with a CT value >130. We found that the conventional scores excluded 39% of the plaque area, and the Zeff score permitted the analysis of low- and high-density plaques.

Conclusions: Zeff imaging was shown to be applicable to plaque analysis that reflects the entire plaque volume. This study demonstrated its technical feasibility as a compositional analysis method using the Zeff image.

查看原文本刊更多论文

光子计数计算机断层扫描冠状动脉斑块有效原子序数（Zeff）图像分析的适用性。

目的：冠状动脉计算机断层扫描（CT）可以通过成像冠状动脉钙化斑块来评估心血管风险。由于光子计数CT （PC-CT）可以分析物体的有效原子序数（Zeff），因此有望应用于斑块成分的分析。本研究的目的是探讨基于连续渐变Zeff图像的斑块分析的适用性。方法：利用PC-CT获得的虚拟单能图像（VMIs）生成Zeff图像。Zeff值由低能和高能时线性衰减系数（μ）之差计算得到。分析10例患者64个斑块的冠状动脉CT图像。计算斑块区域内Zeff值之和的Zeff评分，并与常规Agatston评分和平均冠状动脉钙（CAC）评分进行比较。结果：Zeff图像的系统不确定度为±0.08。实际患者资料的Zeff评分与常规Agatston评分和平均CAC评分呈正相关。Zeff评分使用斑块区域的所有体素数据，而传统评分仅考虑CT值为bbb130的体素数据。我们发现常规评分排除了39%的斑块面积，而Zeff评分允许分析低密度和高密度斑块。结论：Zeff成像可以反映整个斑块体积，适用于斑块分析。本研究证明了该方法作为一种基于Zeff图像的成分分析方法的技术可行性。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

求助全文

约1分钟内获得全文求助全文

来源期刊

Investigative Radiology 医学-核医学

CiteScore

15.10

自引率

16.40%

发文量

188

审稿时长

4-8 weeks

期刊介绍： Investigative Radiology publishes original, peer-reviewed reports on clinical and laboratory investigations in diagnostic imaging, the diagnostic use of radioactive isotopes, computed tomography, positron emission tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, ultrasound, digital subtraction angiography, and related modalities. Emphasis is on early and timely publication. Primarily research-oriented, the journal also includes a wide variety of features of interest to clinical radiologists.