Keywords:
Calcifications / Calculi, Artifacts, Technology assessment, Efficacy studies, CT, Cardiovascular system, Cardiac
Authors:
N. G. Eijsvoogel1, B. Hendriks1, S. Altintas2, M. Kok1, B. L. Kietselaer1, J. E. Wildberger1, M. Das1; 1Maastricht/NL, 2Maastricht /NL
Methods and Materials
Between December 2015 and March 2016,
100 consecutive patients referred for standard thoracic CT-scanning between December 2015 and March 2016 were included.
Scan protocol consisted of kVp settings between 70-120kV (CAREkV,
Siemens),
pitch value of 3,
reference tube current 40mAsref,
0.6mm slice thickness,
and 0.4mm increment,
on a 3rd-generation dual-source CT (Somatom Definition Force,
Siemens).
A dedicated cardiac post-processing reconstruction was added to standard reconstructions (Kernel Bv36).
Contrast Media (CM) Injection protocol consisted of 30mL CM; 25mL mixed (50/50),
and 20 mL NaCl.
Subjective image quality (SIQ) was determined using a 5-point Likert scale (1=excellent/2=good/3=sufficient/4=moderate/5=non-diagnostic) with regard to cardiac motion artefacts.
Information about aortic and mitral valve morphology/calcification (AVC/MVC),
pericardial abnormalities and coronary artery disease (CAD) (with a 17-segment model from the American Heart Association (AHA)10),
was collected and analyzed.