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Updated: May 4, 2026

In Vivo Quantitative Assessment of Myocardial Structure, Function, Perfusion and Viability Using Cardiac Micro-computed Tomography
Published on: February 16, 2016
Stress myocardial perfusion: imaging with multidetector CT
Alexia Rossi1, Daphne Merkus, Ernst Klotz
1From the Departments of Radiology (A.R., N.M., P.J.d.F., G.P.K.) and Experimental Cardiology (D.M.), Erasmus Medical Center, 's-Gravendijkwal 230, 3015 CE Rotterdam, the Netherlands; and Siemens Healthcare, Forchheim, Germany (E.K.).
Insights
Computed tomographic (CT) coronary angiography can detect coronary stenosis but struggles with functional significance. Stress myocardial perfusion CT imaging offers a promising solution for evaluating myocardial ischemia, improving diagnostic accuracy when combined with CT coronary angiography.
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular imaging
- Radiology
- Medical diagnostics
Background:
- Computed tomographic (CT) coronary angiography is limited in assessing the functional significance of coronary stenosis.
- Anatomic and functional information is crucial for guiding patient care in coronary artery disease.
- Myocardial ischemia assessment often requires additional functional testing beyond CT coronary angiography.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the physiology of coronary circulation and myocardial perfusion.
- To describe technical aspects, challenges, and modeling for CT perfusion imaging.
- To discuss recent advances, interpretation, and future research in CT perfusion.
Main Methods:
- Review of current literature on CT coronary angiography and myocardial perfusion.
- Discussion of CT perfusion imaging principles, including physiology and technical prerequisites.
- Analysis of advancements in CT scanner technology and perfusion protocols.
Main Results:
- Stress myocardial perfusion CT imaging can evaluate myocardial ischemia during vasodilator stress.
- Combining stress myocardial perfusion CT with CT coronary angiography improves diagnostic accuracy compared to CT coronary angiography alone.
- Optimization of CT perfusion acquisition protocols, including parameters, contrast injection, and radiation dose, is necessary.
Conclusions:
- Stress myocardial perfusion CT imaging shows potential for assessing myocardial ischemia and improving diagnostic accuracy.
- Further research is required to optimize CT perfusion protocols and establish clinical utility.
- CT perfusion imaging, combined with CT coronary angiography, may offer a comprehensive noninvasive assessment of coronary artery disease.
Abstract:
Computed tomographic (CT) coronary angiography is a well-established, noninvasive imaging modality for detection of coronary stenosis, but it has limited accuracy in demonstrating whether a coronary stenosis is hemodynamically significant. An additional functional test is often required because both anatomic and functional information is needed for guiding patient care. Recent developments in CT technology allow CT evaluation of myocardial perfusion during vasodilator stress, thereby providing information about myocardial ischemia. Investigators in several single-center studies have established the feasibility of performing stress myocardial perfusion CT imaging in small groups of patients and have shown that stress myocardial perfusion CT in combination with CT coronary angiography improved the diagnostic accuracy in comparison with CT coronary angiography alone. However, CT perfusion acquisition protocols must be optimized in terms of acquisition and reconstruction parameters, contrast material protocol injections, and radiation dose. Further research is needed to establish the clinical usefulness of this novel technique. The purpose of this review is to (a) provide an overview of the physiology of coronary circulation and myocardial perfusion; (b) describe the technical prerequisites, challenges, and mathematic modeling related to CT perfusion imaging; (c) note recent advances in CT scanners and CT perfusion protocols; and (d) discuss the interpretation of CT perfusion images. Finally, a review and summary of the current literature are provided, and future directions for research are discussed.
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