Methods and apparatus for acquiring perfusion data

1. A method for obtaining perfusion data, said method comprising:

providing an object of interest;

estimating a first quantity of contrast agent utilized by a mono-energy computed tomography (CT) imaging system to image the object of interest;

introducing a second quantity of contrast agent into the object of interest, the second quantity of contrast agent less than the first quantity of contrast agent; and

scanning the object of interest using a multi-energy Computed Tomography (MECT) system to acquire data.

2. A method in accordance with claim 1 further comprising:

acquiring a first image of a contrast agent at a first energy during a first scan;

acquiring a second image of a background tissue at a second energy during the first scan; and

subtracting the second image from the first image to generate an enhanced image.

3. A method in accordance with claim 1 wherein said introducing a second quantity of contrast agent comprises introducing a second quantity of contrast agent into the object of interest, the second quantity of contrast agent less than the first quantity of contrast agent by at least 10%.

4. A method in accordance with claim 1 wherein said introducing a second quantity of contrast agent comprises introducing a second quantity of contrast agent into the object of interest, the second quantity of contrast agent less than the first quantity of contrast agent by at least 25%.

5. A method in accordance with claim 4 wherein said introducing a second quantity of contrast agent comprises introducing a second quantity of contrast agent into the object of interest, the second quantity of contrast agent less than the first quantity of contrast agent by at most 60%.

6. A method in accordance with claim 4 wherein said introducing a second quantity of contrast agent comprises introducing a second quantity of contrast agent into the object of interest, the second quantity of contrast agent less than the first quantity of contrast agent by at most 75%.

7. A multi-energy computed tomography (MECT) system comprising:

at least one radiation source;

at least one radiation detector; and

a computer coupled to said radiation source and said radiation detector, said computer configured to:

introduce a quantity of contrast into a first vessel wherein the quantity of contrast is less than a quantity utilized by a mono-energy computed tomography (CT);

acquire a first image of the contrast agent at a first energy during a first scan;

acquire a second image of a background tissue at a second energy during the first scan;

decompose the first and second images using at least one of a CT number difference algorithm and a basis material decomposition (BMD) algorithm; and

subtract the second image from the first image to generate an enhanced image.

8. A computer readable medium encoded with a program configured to instruct a computer to:

introduce a quantity of contrast agent into a first vessel wherein the quantity of contrast agent is less than a quantity utilized by a mono-energy computed tomography (CT);

acquire a first image of the contrast agent at a first energy during a first scan;

acquire a second image of a background tissue at a second energy during the first scan;

decompose the first and second images using at least one of a CT number difference algorithm and a basis material decomposition (BMD) algorithm; and

subtract the second image from the first image to generate an enhanced image.

9. A computer configured to:

introduce a quantity of contrast into a first vessel wherein the quantity of contrast is less than a quantity utilized by a mono-energy computed tomography (CT);

acquire a first image of a contrast agent at a first energy during a first scan of the multi-energy computed tomography (MECT) system;

acquire a second image of a background tissue at a second energy during the first scan of the MECT;

decompose a plurality of projections relating to said first and second images prior to generating the first and second images by using at least one of a CT number difference algorithm and a basis material decomposition (BMD) algorithm; and

subtract the second image from the first image to generate an enhanced image.