Dual-energy CT in the emergency department: A pictorial essay from a single center experience

Learning Objectives: To provide a pictorial review of the main clinical applications of DECT with a focus on traumatic and non-traumatic emergencies.Methods: DECT is becoming increasingly common in clinical practice. The differences in attenuation between two different datasets allow to perform a qualitative and quantitative characterization of the materials contained in a single voxel. Virtual monoenergetic images, material decomposition images, electron density maps, and atomic number maps are created by post-processing algorithms and offer the radiologist useful diagnostic data.Results: We present a series of cases illustrating the utility of DECT in the diagnosis and management of acute pathologies, with a special focus on musculoskeletal imaging and neuroimaging.Conclusion: DECT is a useful imaging technique that may allow radiologists to make quicker and more precise diagnoses in the emergency setting.