DLIR with high-frequency kernels improves small-lesion detectability on CT, except for 3-mm low-contrast lesions at low dose

DLIR with high-frequency kernels reduced noise and improved detectability of small lesions vs iterative reconstruction in CT phantoms, best with DLIR-High. However, for 3mm 200mg/cc lesions, contrast decreased and advantage was lost below 3mGy (chest) & 7mGy (spine).

• In-plane spatial resolution was slightly better with DLIR than ASIR-V0 and stable across strength levels; longitudinal resolution did not depend on algorithm.
• DLIR-High reduced noise below ASIR-V80 levels while maintaining a noise texture similar to filtered back projection.
• Contrast of 3-mm 200 mg/cc lesions decreased with increasing DLIR strength, partially offsetting the detectability gain at low doses.

Automated summary

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