Trends and hotspots of energy-based imaging in thoracic disease: a bibliometric analysis.

Objective: To conduct a bibliometric analysis of the prospects and obstacles associated with dual- and multi-energy CT in thoracic disease, emphasizing its current standing, advantages, and areas requiring attention.

Methods: The Web of Science Core Collection was queried for relevant publications in dual- and multi-energy CT and thoracic applications without a limit on publication date or language. The Bibliometrix packages, VOSviewer, and CiteSpace were used for data analysis. Bibliometric techniques utilized were co-authorship analyses, trend topics, thematic map analyses, thematic evolution analyses, source's production over time, corresponding author's countries, and a treemap of authors' keywords.

Results: A total of 1992 publications and 7200 authors from 313 different sources were examined in this study. The first available document was published in November 1982, and the most cited article was cited 1200 times. Siemens AG in Germany emerged as the most prominent author affiliation, with a total of 221 published articles. The most represented scientific journals were the "European Radiology" (181 articles, h-index = 46), followed by the "European Journal of Radiology" (148 articles, h-index = 34). Most of the papers were from Germany, the USA, or China. Both the keyword and topic analyses showed the history of dual- and multi-energy CT and the evolution of its application hotspots in the chest.

Conclusion: Our study illustrates the latest advances in dual- and multi-energy CT and its increasingly prominent applications in the chest, especially in lung parenchymal diseases and coronary artery diseases. Photon-counting CT and artificial intelligence will be the emerging hot technologies that continue to develop in the future.

Critical relevance statement: This study aims to provide valuable insights into energy-based imaging in chest disease, validating the clinical application of multi-energy CT together with photon-counting CT and effectively increasing utilization in clinical practice.

Key points: Bibliometric analysis is fundamental to understanding the current and future state of dual- and multi-energy CT. Research trends and leading topics included coronary artery disease, pulmonary embolism, and radiation dose. All analyses indicate a growing interest in the use of energy-based imaging techniques for thoracic applications.