Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate the image quality of monoenergetic images (MEIs (+)) acquired from dual-energy computed tomography with low-concentration and low-flow-rate contrast media for the arterial supply to the nipple-areola complex (NAC) in breast cancer compared with conventional computed tomography angiography (CTA).
Methods: We enrolled 25 patients (MEI (+)300 group, 300 mg/mL and 2.5 mL/s of contrast media) and 23 patients (CTA370 group, 370 mg/mL and 3.5 mL/s of contrast media) for assessing NAC blood supply angiography. The image quality of the 2 groups was evaluated objectively and subjectively.
Results: The 40 keV MEI (+)300 demonstrated higher attenuation and contrast-to-noise ratio than CTA370 group (P < 0.001). The subjective image quality and visualization of the arteries were comparable between 2 groups.
Conclusions: The 40 keV MEI (+)300 acquired from dual-energy computed tomography can achieve comparable image quality of arterial supply to NAC with low-concentration and low-flow-rate contrast media in breast cancer compared with CTA370.