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Contrast material injection protocol with the flow rate adjusted to the heart rate for dual source CT coronary

Xiaomei Zhu1, Wenping Chen, Mei Li

  • 1Department of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, 300 Guangzhou Road, Nanjing, 210029 Jiangsu, China.

The International Journal of Cardiovascular Imaging
|October 5, 2011
PubMed

Insights

Adjusting contrast material flow rate to heart rate in dual-source CT coronary angiography (DSCT-CCTA) can reduce the impact of heart rate on coronary artery attenuation. This technique improves image quality for cardiac assessments.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiovascular Imaging
  • Radiology
  • Medical Physics

Background:

  • Dual-source CT coronary angiography (DSCT-CCTA) is crucial for evaluating coronary artery disease.
  • Image quality in DSCT-CCTA, particularly coronary arterial attenuation, can be affected by patient heart rate.
  • Optimizing contrast material delivery is essential for diagnostic accuracy.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the impact of contrast material flow rate, adjusted to patient heart rate, on coronary arterial attenuations during DSCT-CCTA.
  • To determine if adjusting flow rate can mitigate heart rate-related variations in coronary artery visualization.

Main Methods:

  • A study included 296 patients undergoing DSCT-CCTA, randomly assigned to three contrast flow rate groups: dosage/16 (G1), dosage/(scan time +8) (G2), and fixed flow rate (G3).
  • Standardized imaging parameters (120 kV, 380 mAs) and retrospective ECG gating were used.
  • Coronary artery attenuations and contrast-to-noise ratios (CNR) were compared across groups, with correlation analysis between heart rate and attenuation.

Main Results:

  • No significant differences in mean attenuations were found for the ascending aorta (AA), left main (LM), or right coronary artery (RCA) across the groups.
  • Coronary artery attenuations in G1 and G3 decreased with increasing heart rate, while G2 showed no significant correlation.
  • Contrast-to-noise ratios (LM(CNR) and RCA(CNR)) were not significantly correlated with heart rate in any group.

Conclusions:

  • Adjusting contrast material flow rate in proportion to heart rate (G2) effectively diminishes the influence of heart rate on coronary arterial attenuations in DSCT-CCTA.
  • This adjusted flow rate strategy can lead to more consistent and reliable image quality for coronary angiography.
  • The findings suggest a potential optimization for contrast delivery protocols in DSCT-CCTA to improve diagnostic performance.

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