| Sixty-four-section multidetector CT angiography of carotid arteries: a systematic analysis of image quality and artifacts. | |
| | |
MedLine Citation:
|
PMID: 19729539 Owner: NLM Status: MEDLINE |
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
|
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Sixty-four-section CT scanners have recently been introduced for vascular imaging. Before such scanners reach widespread use, scanning protocol should be optimized and image quality assessed. The goals of this study were to systematically measure image quality and determine the prevalence of various types of artifacts produced by a 64-section scanner. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed CT angiography (CTA) scans obtained on a 64-section CT scanner in 100 consecutive patients presenting to the emergency department during a 2-month period with a suspected acute cerebrovascular event. We evaluated scan quality by using 2 different methods: First, we quantitatively assessed arterial opacification by measuring attenuation values in 9 arterial segments from the aortic arch to the distal cervical internal carotid artery, by using a threshold of 150 HU as an indicator of good opacification. Second, we assessed image contrast between arteries and veins by measuring attenuation within venous segments and recording the number of artery-vein-segment pairs in which the attenuation difference was <or=50 HU. In addition, we recorded the prevalence of the following artifacts: metallic hardware streak, contrast material streak from slow-flowing contrast material in adjacent large veins, streak artifacts from shoulders, contrast material reflux into veins of the neck, motion artifacts, and artifacts causing misrepresentation of flow dynamics simulating arterial dissection or occlusion. These results were compared with those of a historical control group of 113 patients from our institution who were imaged with the same technical parameters on a 16-section CT scanner. RESULTS: The quantitative assessment of arterial opacification showed that 854 of 885 analyzed arterial segments (96.5%) had good opacification (ie, attenuation values >150 HU). Image contrast between artery and vein segments was also good, with 714 of 763 analyzable segment pairs (85.6%) having >50 HU difference. Artifacts obscuring arterial evaluation included streak from contrast material in the subclavian/brachiocephalic vein (32% of patients), attenuation of the x-ray beam between the shoulders (28%), beam-hardening from metallic hardware (26%), and contrast material reflux into neck veins (16%). The most clinically relevant artifacts were flow artifacts, mimicking dissection or vascular occlusion; they were seen in 14% of patients and likely are related to the rapid data acquisition for CTA on 64-section scanners (compared with the circulation of contrast material in the cervical arteries). None of the patients in our historical control group who underwent 16-section CT had flow artifacts on their CTA studies; the incidence of the other types of artifacts in this group was similar to that in patients imaged with 64-section CT. CONCLUSIONS: The 64-section CTA imaging protocol for carotid arteries yields high-quality studies in >95% of cases. |
| | |
Authors:
|
J J Kim; W P Dillon; C M Glastonbury; J M Provenzale; M Wintermark |
Related Documents
:
|
21344029 - Factors affecting the outcome of extraperitoneal laparoscopic radical prostatectomy: pe... 14509189 - Combined diagnostic and therapeutic imaging in the diagnosis of venous sinus thrombosis... 18942299 - Clinical utility of 64-row multislice ct angiography in the detection of cerebral aneur... 9242779 - Evaluation of contrast densities in the diagnosis of carotid stenosis by ct angiography. 18307199 - Non-contrast-enhanced mr angiography of the thoracic aorta using cardiac and navigator-... 12908709 - Computed tomography angiography: principles and clinical applications. 8275849 - Interaction between splotch (sp) and curly tail (ct) mouse mutants in the embryonic dev... 6649229 - Penile calibration for nocturnal penile tumescence studies. 22167339 - Detectability of pancreas divisum in patients with acute pancreatitis on multi-detector... |
Publication Detail:
|
Type: Journal Article Date: 2009-09-03 |
Journal Detail:
|
Title: AJNR. American journal of neuroradiology Volume: 31 ISSN: 1936-959X ISO Abbreviation: AJNR Am J Neuroradiol Publication Date: 2010 Jan |
Date Detail:
|
Created Date: 2010-01-15 Completed Date: 2010-03-19 Revised Date: - |
Medline Journal Info:
|
Nlm Unique ID: 8003708 Medline TA: AJNR Am J Neuroradiol Country: United States |
Other Details:
|
Languages: eng Pagination: 91-9 Citation Subset: IM |
Affiliation:
|
Department of Radiology, Neuroradiology Section, University of California, San Francisco, California 94143-0628, USA. |
Export Citation:
|
APA/MLA Format Download EndNote Download BibTex |
| MeSH Terms | |
Descriptor/Qualifier:
|
Adult Aged Aged, 80 and over Angiography / methods Artifacts* Carotid Arteries / radiography* Female Humans Male Middle Aged Retrospective Studies Tomography, X-Ray Computed* Young Adult |
From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine
Previous Document: Neuroimaging in Superficial Siderosis: An In-Depth Look.
Next Document: Immediate Anatomic Results after the Endovascular Treatment of Unruptured Intracranial Aneurysms: An...