Diagnosis
From: Dual Energy CT Characterization of Urinary Calculi: Initial In Vitro and Clinical Experience
MDCT – multi-detector row computed tomography can detect urinary stone based diseases in patients however it cannot detect the composition of these artefacts on a typical image. DECT – dual energy computed tomography on the other hand was capable of differentiating stones that were composed mainly of uric acid from cystine and COM – calcium oxalate monohydrate stones amongst others. This has relevance due to the respective treatment for different stones. Typically urinary stones are dealt with via minor surgical extraction. However, stones with a high uric acid composition can be treated with oral medication that can break the stone down. Additionally both cystine and COM stones are must be dealt with via surgical extraction rather than a third method known as ESWL – extracorporal shock wave lithiotripsy as these stones are resistant to that type of treatment. This means that DECT can be used effectively in diagnosis of different urinary stones and results in not only faster and more accurate diagnosis but could minimise the amount of surgery required. The NHS is busy and surgery takes ages, so the patient too benefits if they can be treated through oral medication.

There is more on this article as to how exactly DECT is able to do this.
	Discuss whether a brief description of method would make sense.

From: Germans support single-source dual-energy CT for gout
Clinical research comparing dual source CT imaging and digital radiography to DECT in the diagnosis of tophaceous gout. Again, the benefit of dual energy CT here is the ability to differentiate between composition of artefacts. Here there are two case studies that show positive diagnostic results.
1.	A patient presenting with acute monoarthritis in the foot.
a.	Uric levels were elevated, this was what ignited the doubt.
b.	DECT was used and it was diagnosed as tophaceous gout.
c.	This could not be diagnosed reliably without the use of DECT to accurately detect the composition of the artefact.
2.	Case study of 21 cases of gout was undertaken using the three imaging techniques.
a.	DECT was found to the most accurate overall.
b.	Conclusion of the case study was that single source DECT was effective at accurately detecting the uric acid composition.
These results are particularly important as they come from Germany which has introduced dual energy x-ray imaging into diagnostic practice albeit selectively.
Dr. Torsten Diekhoff states in this article: ‘We were surprised to see that dual-energy imaging with such low exposure provides reliable results and similar diagnostic accuracy as reported for conventional dual-energy protocols in the literature’.
He also said, "Dual-energy CT is an emerging imaging technique we will use more often in the future,"
This article will require a literature review.

From: https://www.insideradiology.com.au/dual-energy-ct-scan/
This informational advice piece states that DECT can be more effective when imaging patients with metal in the area that needs to be scanned. This is beneficial for patients that have had to have joint replacements or have medical screws or staples used in assisting the mending of broken bones. For the NHS this means that more accurate diagnoses can be made immediately on these patients instead of getting potentially unclear images from mono energetic CT.