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World J Radiol. May 28, 2026; 18(5): 119048
Published online May 28, 2026. doi: 10.4329/wjr.v18.i5.119048
Published online May 28, 2026. doi: 10.4329/wjr.v18.i5.119048
Photon-counting computed tomography enables low-dose, high-quality abdominal imaging: A comparative study with energy-integrating detector computed tomography
Ting-Ting Zhu, Wan-Min Liu, Wen-Jie Yang, Xiao Liu, Department of Radiology, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200025, China
Xiao-Yun Zhu, Min Yang, Department of Radiology, Taicang Loujiang New City Hospital (Ruijin Hospital), Taicang 215400, Jiangsu Province, China
Author contributions: Zhu TT and Zhu XY participated in the conception and design of the study and were involved in the acquisition, analysis, and interpretation of data; Zhu TT, Yang M, and Liu WM wrote the manuscript; Yang WJ and Liu X accessed and verified the study data. All authors critically reviewed and provided final approval of the manuscript, all authors were responsible for the decision to submit the manuscript for publication.
AI contribution statement: ChatGPT was used only for grammar checking (detecting grammatical errors in the manuscript). No other AI tools were used.
Supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China, No. 2022YFC2401604.
Institutional review board statement: The study protocol was approved by the Ethics Committee of Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine (approval No. 2025-250).
Informed consent statement: All study participants, or their legal guardian, provided informed written consent prior to study enrollment.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
Data sharing statement: Data are available from the corresponding author upon request.
Corresponding author: Xiao Liu, Department of Radiology, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, No. 197 Ruijin 2nd Road, Huangpu District, Shanghai 200025, China. liuxiao.1988.02@163.com
Received: January 19, 2026
Revised: February 23, 2026
Accepted: April 15, 2026
Published online: May 28, 2026
Processing time: 129 Days and 2.6 Hours
Revised: February 23, 2026
Accepted: April 15, 2026
Published online: May 28, 2026
Processing time: 129 Days and 2.6 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: Photon-counting computed tomography (PCCT) is an emerging technology that offers superior dose efficiency and image quality compared to conventional energy-integrating detector computed tomography. In this abdominal imaging study, PCCT achieved approximately 50% reduction in radiation dose while significantly improving both objective and subjective image quality. These findings highlight the potential of PCCT to enable low-dose, high-quality clinical protocols, representing a significant advancement in diagnostic imaging.