Motion Artifact Reduction From High-Pitch Dual-Source Computed Tomography Pulmonary Angiography

Area of Science:

• Radiology
• Medical Imaging
• Cardiovascular Imaging

Background:

• Motion artifacts degrade image quality in computed tomography pulmonary angiography (CTPA).
• Dual-source (DS) CT technology offers potential advantages over single-source (SS) CT for reducing motion artifacts.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare quantitative and qualitative measures of motion artifact between high-pitch DS and SS CTPA protocols.
• To evaluate the impact of DS versus SS CTPA on aortic, cardiac, and respiratory motion artifact.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective review of 80 non-electrocardiogram-gated CTPA examinations (40 SS, 40 DS).
• Quantitative assessment of motion artifact using maximal excursion of "double images" for aortic, left ventricular, and diaphragmatic motion.
• Qualitative assessment of motion artifact by three independent readers; evaluation of contrast enhancement, image noise, and radiation dose.

Main Results:

• DS CTPA demonstrated significantly reduced motion artifacts compared to SS CTPA, both quantitatively and qualitatively (P ≤ 0.004).
• DS protocol showed increased pulmonary arterial contrast enhancement but a lower enhancement-to-noise ratio due to increased image noise.
• Mean radiation dose was 60% lower with the DS protocol.

Conclusions:

• High-pitch DS CTPA effectively minimizes motion artifacts from the ascending aorta, heart, and diaphragm.
• DS CTPA offers improved image quality and reduced radiation exposure compared to SS CTPA for pulmonary angiography.