Dose levels and image quality of second-generation 128-slice dual-source coronary CT angiography in clinical routine.
Radiol Med
; 120(12): 1112-21, 2015 Dec.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-25981379
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES:
To compare radiation exposure and image quality of second-generation 128-slice dual-source CT (DSCT) coronary angiography (cCTA) protocols. MATERIALS ANDMETHODS:
We retrospectively analyzed data from four groups with 25 patients, each examined by one of the following DSCT cCTA protocols prospectively ECG-gated high-pitch (group 1) or sequential (group 2) acquisition, retrospectively ECG-gated acquisition in dual-energy (DECT, group 3) or dual-source (group 4) mode. CT dose index volume, dose length product, estimated radiation dose, contrast-to-noise- and signal-to-noise-ratios were compared. Subjective image quality was rated by two observers blinded to the protocols.RESULTS:
High-pitch DSCT showed a mean estimated radiation dose of 1.27 ± 0.62 mSv, significantly (p < 0.01) lower than sequential (2.04 ± 0.94 mSv), dual-energy (3.97 ± 1.29 mSv) or dual-source (8.11 ± 4.95 mSv) acquisition. Image noise showed no statistical difference (p > 0.91), ranging from 15.2 ± 4.4 (group 2) up to 24.5 ± 22.0 (group 4). Each protocol showed diagnostic image quality in at least 98.1 % of evaluated coronary segments without significant differences (p > 0.05).CONCLUSIONS:
Prospectively ECG-gated DSCT protocols enable cCTA with significant dose reduction and consistently diagnostic image quality. In patients requiring retrospectively ECG-gated DSCT for functional analysis or due to arrhythmia, dual-energy mode should be preferred over dual-source mode as it significantly decreases estimated dose without compromising image quality.Key words
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Radiation Dosage
/
Image Enhancement
/
Tomography, X-Ray Computed
/
Coronary Angiography
Type of study:
Guideline
/
Observational_studies
Limits:
Aged
/
Humans
Language:
En
Journal:
Radiol Med
Year:
2015
Document type:
Article