Optimizing computed tomography to reduce artifacts from titanium aneurysm clips: an in vitro study. Technical note

Area of Science:

• Medical Imaging
• Radiology
• Neurosurgery

Background:

• Digital subtraction angiography is the standard for postoperative evaluation of cerebral aneurysm clips.
• Computed tomography (CT) imaging is often limited by artifacts from aneurysm clips.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the impact of various imaging parameters on 3D CT reconstruction quality.
• To optimize CT angiography for improved visualization of cerebral aneurysm clips.

Main Methods:

• Utilized multidetector CT scanners with submillimeter collimation (0.625 mm).
• Scanned a silicone phantom with commercial aneurysm clips, varying slice thickness, reconstruction overlap, kV, mA, and pitch.
• Neuroradiologists, blinded to parameters, rated image quality and artifact reduction.

Main Results:

• Optimal visualization of titanium clips and aneurysm models was achieved using 140 kV, 380 mA, and 0.625-mm overlapping reconstructed slices.
• Excellent 3D visualization was obtained even with adjacent clips.

Conclusions:

• Overlapping reconstructions and thin-section acquisition provide detailed imaging of titanium clips and surrounding tissues.
• Low-pitch values are not necessary for achieving detailed images.