Computed Tomography Using a Low Tube Voltage Technique for Acute Ischemic Stroke

Computed tomography (CT) is commonly used to assess for cerebral hemorrhage and acute ischemic stroke. We investigated the accuracy of CT using a low tube voltage technique in acute ischemic stroke. We compared the standard deviation (SD), contrast between gray and white matter, and contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) between three groups (120 kV 500 mAs, 100 kV 850 mAs, and 100 kV 750 mAs using hybrid iterative reconstruction) in 50 patients without lesions, and visual evaluation using the normalized rank approach was also performed. The mean value of SD was 4.02, 4.22, and 4.04, respectively, and the contrast between gray and white matter was 7.08, 8.66, and 8.68 HU, respectively; in addition, the CNR was 1.77, 2.06, and 2.15, respectively. The difference between the 100 kV and 120 kV groups was significant (p < 0.01). Visual evaluation showed a significant difference between the 100 and 120 kV groups (p < 0.05).