Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 20, 2025
Identifying Coronary Artery Calcification on Non-gated Computed Tomography Scans
Published on: August 28, 2018
Intra-individual comparison of image quality of the coronary arteries between photon-counting detector and
Daniel Pinos1, Joseph Griffith1, Tilman Emrich2
1Division of Cardiovascular Imaging, Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, Medical University of South Carolina (25 Courtenay Dr, Charleston, SC, 29425, USA).
Purpose:
To intra-individually compare the objective and subjective image quality of coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) between photon-counting detector CT (PCD-CT) and energy-integrating detector CT (EID-CT).
Method:
Consecutive patients undergoing clinically indicated CCTA on an EID-CT system were prospectively enrolled for a research CCTA performed on a PCD-CT system within 30 days. Polychromatic images were reconstructed for both EID- and PCD-CT, while virtual monoenergetic images (VMI) were generated at 40, 45, 50, 55, 60 and 70 keV for PCD-CT. Two blinded readers calculated contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) for each major coronary artery and rated image noise, vessel attenuation, vessel sharpness, and overall quality on a 1-5 Likert scale. Patients were then stratified by body mass index (BMI) [high (>30 kg/m2) vs low (<30 kg/m2)] for subgroup analysis.
Results:
A total of 20 patients (67.5 ± 9.0 years, 75% male) were included in the study. Compared with EID-CT, coronary artery CNR values from PCD-CT monoenergetic and polychromatic reconstructions were all significantly higher than CNR values from EID-CT, with incrementally greater differences in obese subjects (all p < 0.008). Subjective image noise and sharpness were also significantly higher for all VMI reconstructions compared to EID-CT (all p < 0.008). All subjective scores were significantly higher for 55, 60, and 70 keV PCD-CT than EID-CT values (all p < 0.05).
Conclusions:
The improved objective and subjective image quality of PCD-CT compared to EID-CT may provide better visualization of the coronary arteries for a wide array of patients, especially those with a high BMI.
More Related Videos
08:13In Vivo Quantitative Assessment of Myocardial Structure, Function, Perfusion and Viability Using Cardiac Micro-computed Tomography
Published on: February 16, 2016
08:02Author Spotlight: Enhanced Quantification of Cardiovascular Calcification Progression for Longitudinal Micro PET/CT Studies in Small Research Animals
Published on: November 15, 2024
Related Concept Videos
01:28Imaging Studies for Cardiovascular System V: CT
01:25Imaging Studies for Cardiovascular System VI: Calcium -Scoring CT
01:20Imaging Studies for Cardiovascular System III: X-Ray
Definition and Purpose
An X-ray, or radiograph, is a non-invasive method that uses ionizing radiation to take images of internal structures. It is mainly used in cardiac imaging to examine the heart, lungs, and major blood vessels, aiming to identify abnormalities in the heart's size, shape, and position, such as heart failure, congenital defects, and vascular...
01:21Imaging Studies for Cardiovascular System IV: CMRI
01:10Computed Tomography
The technique was invented in the 1970s and is based on the principle that as X-rays pass through the body, they are absorbed or reflected at different levels. In the technique, a patient lies on a motorized platform while a computerized axial tomography (CAT) scanner rotates...
01:27Imaging Studies III: Computed Tomography