Dual-Energy Chest Radiography with a Flat-Panel Digital Detector: Revealing Calcified Chest Abnormalities

OBJECTIVE. The aim of this study was to assess the value of dual-energy chest radiography obtained using a cesium iodide flat-panel detector in addition to standard posteroanterior chest radiography for the detection of calcified chest abnormalities.MATERIALS AND METHODS. The study included 20 patients with a total of 37 calcified chest lesions (16 pulmonary nodules, 17 mediastinal calcifications, and four pleural calcifications) as confirmed on CT. Twenty-eight locations in the chests of the same patients who were free of lesions were used as negative controls. Four radiologists reviewed posteroanterior chest radiographs in a blinded manner alone and in conjunction with dual-energy soft-tissue and bone images. We calculated sensitivity, specificity, the negative predictive value (NPV), and the positive predictive value (PPV) for lesion prediction. The Wilcoxon's and the Brunner and Langer's tests were performed for statistical analysis.RESULTS. For posteroanterior chest radiography, sensitivity was 36%, ...