Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Beeres, Martin
• Schell, Boris
• Mastragelopoulos, Aristidis
• Herrmann, Eva
• Kerl, Josef Matthias
• Gruber-Rouh, Tatjana
• Lee, Clara
• Siebenhandl, Petra
• Bodelle, Boris
• Zangos, Stephan
• Vogl, Thomas J.
• Jacobi, Volkmar
• Bauer, Ralf W.

Titel

High-pitch dual-source CT angiography of the whole aorta without ECG synchronisation: Initial experience

Ist Teil von

• European radiology, 2012, Vol.22 (1), p.129-137

Ort / Verlag

Berlin/Heidelberg: Springer-Verlag

Erscheinungsjahr

2012

Link zum Volltext

Quelle

SpringerLink (Online service)

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• Objective To investigate the feasibility, image quality and radiation dose for high-pitch dual-source CT angiography (CTA) of the whole aorta without ECG synchronisation. Methods Each group of 40 patients underwent CTA either on a 16-slice (group 1) or dual-source CT device with conventional single-source (group 2) or high-pitch mode with a pitch of 3.0 (group 3). The presence of motion or stair-step artefacts of the thoracic aorta was independently assessed by two readers. Results Subjective and objective scoring of motion and artefacts were significantly reduced in the high-pitch examination protocol ( p  < 0.05). The imaging length was not significantly different, but the imaging time was significantly ( p  < 0.001) shorter in the high-pitch group (12.2 vs. 7.4 vs. 1.7 s for groups 1, 2 and 3). The ascending aorta and the coronary ostia were reliably evaluable in all patients of group 3 without motion artefacts as well. Conclusion High-pitch dual-source CT angiography of the whole aorta is feasible in unselected patients. As a significant advantage over regular pitch protocols, motion-free imaging of the aorta is possible without ECG synchronisation. Thus, this CT mode bears potential to become a standard CT protocol before trans-catheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI). Key Points • High-pitch CT angiography without ECG synchronisation can provide motion-free aortic imaging • High-pitch CTA could become the standard protocol before trans-catheter aortic valve implantation • Without ECG-gating, there is no need for special preparation of the patient