CT imaging acquisition
Routine clinical CT scans of the kidney are typically performed using 64-slice multidetector CT equipment. The CT scan parameters are as follows: the tube voltage is 120 kV-140 kV; tube current is 250mA-400 mA; slice thickness is 5 mm. Approximately 80 to 100 mL (1.5mL/kg) of contrast agents (Omnipaque, GE Healthcare) is injected into the antecubital vein at a rate of 3.0 mL/s using a high-pressure injector. Four phases of CT images are obtained: the unenhanced phase (UP), the corticomedullary phase (CMP) which is acquired 30 s after contrast injection, the nephrographic phase (NP) which is acquired 90 s after contrast injection, and the excretory phase (EP) which is acquired 180 s after contrast injection.