(RFOV) The reconstruction field of view is the size of the scan field of view (SFOV) that is reconstructed to form a CT image.

(SFOV) The scan field of view is the area being scanned. This selectable scan factor is measured from a CT system isocenter to the most distant located edge of the patient.

See also Reconstruction Field Of View.

A zoom reconstruction is the enlarged reconstruction of a part of an image. A zoom reconstruction uses the raw data of a scan. Zooming or targeting requires the operator to manipulate the displayed field of view.

Contrast is the relative difference of intensities in two adjacent regions of an image. When referring to computed tomography (CT), contrast is defined as a difference in Hounsfield units between structures. The measurement of contrast resolution in CT imaging involves determining how easy it is to differentiate tissues whose CT density is similar to that of their surroundings. An image lacks contrast when there are no sharp differences between black and white. Brightness refers to the overall lightness or darkness of an image.
The contrast between air, soft tissue, and bones in x-ray and CT images is based on their different absorption of x-rays. Differences in tissue density, thickness and changes of the x-ray spectrum have consequences for image contrast, image noise as well as patient dose.
Optimized tube current, collimation, pitch and image reconstruction improves the contrast. Higher image contrast is produced by increased slice thickness, smaller matrix, and large field of view which results in large voxel size; high mAs to reduce noise; low pass filter.

See also Contrast Enhanced Computed Tomography.