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Evaluation of subsecond gated helical CT for quantification of coronary artery calcium and comparison with electron
J J Carr1, J R Crouse, D C Goff
1Department of Radiology, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC 27157-1088, USA.
Insights
Cardiac-gated helical CT accurately quantifies coronary artery calcium, correlating highly with electron beam CT. This widely available and cost-effective method makes population screening for coronary calcium more feasible.
Area of Science:
- Radiology
- Cardiovascular Imaging
- Medical Diagnostics
Background:
- Helical CT is the predominant technology for medical imaging since the 1990s.
- Recent advancements include subsecond temporal resolution and retrospective cardiac gating.
- Coronary artery calcium quantification is crucial for cardiovascular risk assessment.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate cardiac-gated helical CT for quantifying coronary artery calcium.
- To compare coronary calcium scores from helical CT with electron beam CT (EBCT).
- To assess the feasibility of helical CT for population-based screening.
Main Methods:
- Compared total calcium scores from a general-purpose helical CT scanner with EBCT.
- Utilized retrospective cardiac gating on a subsecond helical CT scanner.
- Included 36 participants aged 68±11 years (range, 41-85 years).
Main Results:
- High correlation coefficients (Pearson's 0.97-0.98, Spearman's 0.95-0.96) were observed.
- Agreement in classifying participants as healthy/diseased was high across various calcium score thresholds (94%-100%).
- Helical CT results closely matched EBCT findings.
Conclusions:
- Current helical CT scanners with cardiac gating accurately quantify coronary calcium.
- Gated subsecond helical CT is a viable alternative to EBCT for coronary calcium measurement.
- Increased availability and lower cost of helical CT enhance the feasibility of population-based coronary calcium screening.
Objective:
Since its introduction early in the 1990s, helical CT has become the predominant technology for obtaining CT images for medical applications. Recent improvements in the temporal resolution of helical CT (subsecond) and the addition of retrospective cardiac gating are combined in this report evaluating cardiac-gated helical CT for quantifying coronary artery calcium. We compare total calcium scores determined on subsecond gated helical CT with the current reference for coronary calcium evaluation, electron beam CT.
Materials And Methods:
We compared total calcium scores obtained using a general purpose, unmodified helical CT scanner with scores obtained using electron beam CT in 36 individuals who were 68+/-11 years old (age range, 41-85 years).
Results:
Correlation coefficients ranged from 0.97 to 0.98 (Pearson's product moment) and from 0.95 to 0.96 (Spearman's rank order), depending on the coronary calcium scoring method used. Agreement in the classification of participants as "healthy" or "diseased" at threshold total calcium scores of 10, 100, 160, 200, 400, and 680 was, respectively, 94%, 97%, 89%, 92%, 94%, and 100% using the conventional electron beam CT scoring method and an equivalent method with helical CT.
Conclusion:
A general purpose, current generation helical CT scanner equipped for retrospective cardiac gating can accurately quantify coronary calcium, and the results are highly correlated to scores obtained with electron beam CT. As an alternative method for measuring coronary calcium, gated subsecond cardiac helical CT offers greater availability and lower cost, thereby making population-based screening for coronary artery calcium more feasible.