Objective: This study aimed to investigate the effects of the Sn100 kVp tube voltage mode on the image quality and radiation dose of computed tomography pulmonary angiography (CTPA).
Methods: A total of 145 patients who underwent CTPA were randomly divided into five groups: control group (120 kVp, 150 mAs), test group A (Sn100 kVp, 270 mAs), test group B (120 kVp, 30 mAs), test group C (70 kVp, 150 mAs), and test group D (80 kVp, 70 mAs). After image post-processing, the image quality and radiation dose of each group were analyzed.
Results: The computed tomography values of images in the four test groups were more than 250 HU, which met the criteria for diagnosis. The signal-to-noise ratio and contrast-to-noise ratio of the images in the four test groups were lower than those in the control group. The radiation dose in each test group was lower than in the control group. The radiation dose was lowest in test group A.
Conclusion: The Sn100 kVp energy spectrum purification protocol can meet the requirements for clinical diagnosis, ensure image quality, and reduce the dose of radiation that patients receive.
Keywords: Sn100 kVp, CTPA, radiation dose, pulmonary embolism, dual-source CT