[Technical bases and acquisition conditions of electron-beam computed tomography]

In this review the technical principle and scanner characteristics of electron beam computer tomography (EBCT) are discussed.

In contrast to conventional CT, image acquisition in EBCT is achieved without mechanically moving parts. This construction allows for short acquisition times in investigating given anatomical regions (100 ms per slice) or up to 8 levels without table movement and short interscan delays (50 ms per slice).

Depending on the nature of the investigation, the scanner can be used in the single slice, continuous volume scanning and multi slice mode. The single slice mode is used for detection and quantification of coronary calcifications and for CT angiography of the coronary vessels. Equivalent to the spiral mode in conventional CT, continuous volume scanning may be used for routine investigation of the chest and abdomen. Functional investigations of the heart and perfusion measurement of different organs can be performed in multi slice mode. Because of the geometry of the electron beam scanner, radiation exposure for certain investigations is above the exposure with conventional CT.

Future developments will focus on dose efficient radiation collimation, high resolution detector systems and artefact reducing reconstruction kernels.