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CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · Indian J Radiol Imaging 2016; 26(01): 153-155
DOI: 10.4103/0971-3026.178368
Technical Report

A rare cause of tube arcing artifact seen in computed tomography image of a positron emission tomography/computed tomography scanner

Sneha Mithun
Department of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, Tata Memorial Hospital, Parel, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
,
Ashish Kumar Jha
Department of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, Tata Memorial Hospital, Parel, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
,
Ketan Panchal
Department of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, Tata Memorial Hospital, Parel, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
,
Nilendu C Purandare
Department of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, Tata Memorial Hospital, Parel, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
,
Sneha Shah
Department of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, Tata Memorial Hospital, Parel, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
,
Archi Agrawal
Department of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, Tata Memorial Hospital, Parel, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
,
Venkatesh Rangarajan
Department of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, Tata Memorial Hospital, Parel, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
› Author Affiliations Financial support and sponsorship Nil.
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Abstract

Tube arcing artifact is known to be caused by a temporary short circuit in the X-ray tube causing momentary loss of X-ray output. It is seen as near-parallel and an equidistant streak pattern on transaxial computed tomography (CT) images and as a "horizontal" hypodense band on the coronal and sagittal CT images. This artifact can be a random occurrence and was caused in this particular case due to voltage fluctuations in the high-voltage supply transformer supplying the rotor of the anode in the X-ray tube. This problem was initially corrected by reducing the tube voltage to 120 kV from the original 140 kV and, subsequently, replacing the faulty transformer. This kind of artifact, which is a very rare situation, can affect the image quality, and could also be an early sign of equipment failure. To the authors′ knowledge, such an artifact has not been reported till date in a clinical scenario. Hence, we would like to report a rare situation of tube arcing artifact along with a unique remedy.

Keywords

Artifact - computed tomography image quality - positron emission tomography/computed tomography tube arcing - X-ray tube


Publication History

Article published online:
30 July 2021

© 2016. Indian Radiological Association. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial-License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

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