Photon Counting CT Changes Thoracic Imaging

In this episode, Dr. Linda Chu reviews new Radiology studies exploring how photon counting CT is transforming thoracic imaging with ultra‑high resolution and dramatically lower radiation and contrast doses. She examines whether these visually striking images translate into better diagnostic confidence and meaningful improvements in patient care for emphysema and lung cancer imaging.   Ultra-Low-Dose Photon-counting Detector CT for EmphysemaAssessment: A Head-to-Head Comparative Study with Low-Dose CT. Yuan and Yang et al. Radiology 2026; 318(1):e251609.   Photon-counting CT versus Energy-integrating Detector CTin Imaging Lung Cancer. Yang et al. Radiology 2026; 318(2):e251126.   Photon-counting CT versus Energy-integrating Detector CTPerformance for Various BMI and Tumor Sizes in Lung Cancer. Zhou and Guo et al. Radiology 2026; 318(2):e251663.   Prospective Evaluation of Ultra-Low-Dose Photon-counting CT inEmphysema Assessment. Schwartz. Radiology 2026; 318(2):e254065.