Musculoskeletal CT Imaging: State-of-the-Art Advancements and Future Directions

Abstract

CT is one of the most widely used modalities for musculoskeletal imaging. Recent advancements in the field include the introduction of four-dimensional CT, which captures a CT image during motion; cone-beam CT, which uses flat-panel detectors to capture the lower extremities in weight-bearing mode; and dual-energy CT, which operates at two different x-ray potentials to improve the contrast resolution to facilitate the assessment of tissue material compositions such as tophaceous gout deposits and bone marrow edema. Most recently, photon-counting CT (PCCT) has been introduced. PCCT is a technique that uses photon-counting detectors to produce an image with higher spatial and contrast resolution than conventional multidetector CT systems. In addition, postprocessing techniques such as three-dimensional printing and cinematic rendering have used CT data to improve the generation of both physical and digital anatomic models. Last, advancements in the application of artificial intelligence to CT imaging have enabled the automatic evaluation of musculoskeletal pathologies. In this review, the authors discuss the current state of the above CT technologies, their respective advantages and disadvantages, and their projected future directions for various musculoskeletal applications.