Purpose: To evaluate the feasibility of the iterative reconstruction (IR) method with low-dose multi-detector computed tomography (MDCT) for lung cancer screening.
Materials and methods: A chest CT phantom containing simulated ground-glass nodules (GGNs) of 5 different sizes was scanned by use of 16-row and 64-row MDCT. Tube currents of 10, 20, and 30 mA were used for the low-dose CT. To assess the detectability of pure GGNs, a radiologist-performance test was conducted. Mean visual scores for simulated GGNs were compared for reconstructed images from filtered back-projection (FBP) and the IR method.
Results: When 64-row MDCT was used, visual scores for simulated GGNs were significantly higher for the IR method than for the FBP method under any conditions; scores were also significantly higher for 16-row MDCT under some conditions.
Conclusions: The results of this experimental chest phantom study showed that use of the IR method improved the detectability of simulated pure GGNs.