Spiral CT of the abdomen: clinical applications

Spiral CT is a technique for rapid scan acquisition. It involves continuous scanning as the patient is advanced at a constant rate through the CT gantry. This eliminates interscan delay and the gap between scan slices. The acquired scan is a volume dataset, resulting in improved multidimensional displays. The entire abdomen is scanned within approximately 30 s, so that optimal contrast dynamics for evaluation of the vasculature are easily obtained. High levels of parenchymal enhancement are readily achieved throughout the duration of the scan. These factors also contribute to the improved quality of the multidimensional displays. In this article, applications and clinical experience with spiral CT in the abdomen are reviewed.