Technology insight: possible applications of multislice computed tomography in clinical cardiology

With the introduction of four-slice scanners in 1999, multislice CT (MSCT) technology became available for investigative examination of the heart. Since then, MSCT technology has undergone rapid technical progress; temporal and spatial resolutions have been especially improved. The improved diagnostic image quality has led to more possible uses of MSCT being defined. At present, issues such as visualization of coronary artery bypass grafts, detection of stenoses of native coronary arteries, description of coronary anomalies, and calcium scoring, can be investigated reasonably well. Other features, such as plaque imaging and visualization of intracoronary stents, need further evaluation. A large number of factors, however, such as heart rate, atrial fibrillation, breathing artefacts and severe calcification, still influence image quality and reduce validity. In this article we provide a summary of current fields of application of cardiac MSCT. The word 'indication' is consciously avoided because official guidelines for the use of MSCT in heart examination have not yet been issued. Hopefully, prospective multicenter trials will be performed soon, providing more data with which to establish guidelines for both cardiologist and radiologist.