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Updated: Aug 25, 2025
In Vivo Quantitative Assessment of Myocardial Structure, Function, Perfusion and Viability Using Cardiac Micro-computed Tomography
Published on: February 16, 2016
CT Extracellular Volume Fraction versus Myocardium-to-Lumen Signal Ratio for Cardiac Amyloidosis
Masafumi Kidoh1, Seitaro Oda1, Seiji Takashio1
1From the Departments of Diagnostic Radiology (M.K., S.O., S.S., H.H., T.N., Y.N., T.H.), Cardiovascular Medicine (S.T., K.H., K.T.), Hematology, Rheumatology, and Infectious Disease (Y.K.), and Neurology (M.U.), Graduate School of Medical Sciences, and Department of Medical Physics, Faculty of Life Sciences (Y.F.), Kumamoto University, 1-1-1, Honjo, Chuo-ku, Kumamoto 860-8556, Japan.
Abstract:
Background Large studies on the diagnostic performance of CT-derived myocardial extracellular volume fraction (ECV) for detecting cardiac amyloidosis are lacking. A simple and practical index as a surrogate for CT ECV would be clinically useful. Purpose To compare the diagnostic performances between CT-derived myocardial ECV and myocardium-to-lumen signal ratio for the detection of cardiac amyloidosis in a large patient sample. Materials and Methods This retrospective study included patients who underwent CT ECV analysis because of suspected heart failure or cardiomyopathy between January 2018 and July 2021. CT ECV was quantified using routine pre-transcatheter aortic valve replacement planning cardiac CT, pre-atrial fibrillation ablation planning cardiac CT, or coronary CT angiography with the addition of unenhanced and delayed phase cardiac CT scans. The diagnostic performances of CT ECV and myocardium-to-lumen signal ratio in delayed phase cardiac CT (a simplified index not requiring unenhanced CT and hematocrit) for detecting cardiac amyloidosis were evaluated using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC), sensitivity, and specificity. Results Of 552 patients (mean age, 69 years ± 14 [SD]; 295 men), 41 had cardiac amyloidosis. The sensitivity of CT ECV for amyloidosis was 90% (37 of 41 patients [95% CI: 77, 97]), with a specificity of 92% (472 of 511 patients [95% CI: 90, 95]) and optimal ECV cutoff value of 37% (AUC, 0.97 [95% CI: 0.96, 0.99]). The sensitivity of myocardium-to-lumen signal ratio was 88% (36 of 41 patients [95% CI: 74, 96]), with a specificity of 92% (469 of 511 patients [95% CI: 89, 94]) and optimal myocardium-to-lumen signal ratio cutoff value of 0.87 (AUC, 0.96 [95% CI: 0.94, 0.97]; P = .27 for comparison with ECV). Conclusion CT-derived myocardial extracellular volume fraction and myocardium-to-lumen signal ratio showed comparable and excellent diagnostic performance in detecting cardiac amyloidosis in a large patient sample. © RSNA, 2022 Online supplemental material is available for this article. See also the editorial by Williams in this issue.
