Initial Experience of the Application of Third-generation Dual-source CT Scanner in High-pitch Angiography of Aorta

Objective To evaluate the value of third-generation dual-source CT scanner in application of high-pitch aorta CT angiography(CTA). Methods Totally 59 patients clinically indicated for whole aorta angiography were divided into 2 groups using a simple random method:in group 1 there were 28 patients who underwent the examination on a third-generation dual-source CT device,with a collimation of 2×192×0.6 mm and a rotation time of 0.25 s;in group 2 there were 31 patients who underwent the examination on a second generation dual-source CT device,with a collimation of 2×128×0.6 mm and a rotation time of 0.28 s. Both groups were given the examination operated in dual-source high-pitch ECG-gating mode with a pitch of 3.0,a tube voltage of 100 kV,and automated tube current modulation using a reference tube current of 288 mA. A contrast material bolus of 45 ml with a flow of 4.5 ml/s followed by a 50 ml saline chaser in 5.0 ml/s was used. CTA scan was automatically started using a bolus tracking technique at the level of the original part of aorta after a trigger threshold of 100 HU was reached. The start delay was set to 6 s in both groups. Effective dose(ED),signal to noise ratio (SNR),contrast to noise ratio (CNR),and subjective diagnostic quality of both groups were evaluated. Results The mean ED were 19.44% lower (t=-3.989,P=0.000) in group 1 [(3.15±0.86)mSv] than in group 2 [(3.91±0.60)mSv]. These two groups showed no significant differences in SNR or CNR (all P >0.05). The subjective diagnostic quality values also showed no significant difference between two groups [(1.39±0.50)scores vs. (1.45±0.51)scores;W=814.5,P=0.651].Conclusion Compared with the second-generation dual-source CT scanner,the third-generation dual-source CT scanner in whole aorta CTA can remarkably reduce the radiation dose without affecting image quality.