Of particular interest will be the possibility that dual energy can characterize tissue and distinguish vasculature, bone, and soft tissue. Other potential dual-energy applications are vascular and tendon imaging, CT angiograms of the brain, tissue differentiation in atherosclerotic plaque and in the liver, and "virtual contrast" liver CT exams, in which the software will produce an initial image without contrast, as well as an image that looks as if contrast were administered.
Even though a dual-energy software package will be available soon, the technique will take some time before it goes mainstream, according to Dr. U. Joseph Schoepf of the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) in Charleston.
"Right now, the technology needs more research," he said. "Eventually clinical applications will come from that research."
-- Kate Madden Yee
