Multislice CT: A Practical Guide : Proceedings of the 5th International SOMATOM CT Scientific User Conference Zurich, June 2000

The twin developments of spiral CT and multidetector array technology have opened a new era. The CT scanner performance is substantially improved because of increased speed and isotropic spatial resolution. This has yielded a broadening of the spectrum of applications, particularly in cardiac, vascular and abdominal imaging. However, a practical challenge of multidetector CT is the need to select a wide variety of user-selectable parameters in the effort to produce an optimal study. The handling of huge data sets represents another important task. This book contains the experiences of an international group of experts and it is designed to provide the requisite background knowledge in multidetector CT. Front Matter....Pages I-XVI Front Matter....Pages 1-1 Spiral and Multislice Computed Tomography Scanning: Physical Principles that Inform Protocol Development....Pages 3-6 Multislice CT Scanning with the SOMATOM Volume Zoom....Pages 7-21 What is Changed in Contrast Medium Injection when Using High-Resolution Multislice Computed Tomography?....Pages 22-27 Computer Modeling Approach to Contrast Medium Administration and Scan Timing for Multislice Computed Tomography....Pages 28-36 Three-Dimensional Imaging and Virtual Reality Applications of Multislice Computed Tomography....Pages 37-56 Front Matter....Pages 57-57 Intracranial and Cervical Three-Dimensional Computed Tomography Angiography Using a Multislice Computed Tomography System: Initial Clinical Experience....Pages 59-64 Multislice Spiral Computed Tomography of the Skull Base....Pages 65-75 Front Matter....Pages 77-77 Cardiac Imaging with Multislice Spiral Computed Tomography....Pages 79-89 The Potential of Cardio-Computed Tomography....Pages 90-97 Coronary Atherosclerosis in Multislice Computed Tomography....Pages 98-110 Coronary Computed Tomography Angiography Using Multislice Computed Tomography: Pitfalls and Potential....Pages 111-117 Cardiac Multislice Computed Tomography: Screening and Diagnosis of Chronic Heart Disease....Pages 118-124 Real Time Visualization of Volume Data: Applications in Computed Tomography Angiography....Pages 125-133 Fast High-Resolution Computed Tomography Angiography of Peripheral Vessels....Pages 134-142 Front Matter....Pages 143-143 Multislice Computed Tomography of the Lung Parenchyma....Pages 145-156 Multisclice CT in Pulmonary Embolism....Pages 157-168 The Radiologist’s Role in Radiation Exposure during Chest Computed Tomography....Pages 169-176 Front Matter....Pages 177-177 Multidetector, Multislice Spiral Computed Tomography of the Abdomen: Quo Vadis....Pages 179-187 Multislice Computed Tomography of the Urinary Tract....Pages 188-194 Application of Multislice Computed Tomography in Liver and Pancreas....Pages 195-203 Front Matter....Pages 177-177 Virtual Endoscopy....Pages 204-215 Multislice Computed Tomography Colonography: Technique Optimization....Pages 216-225 Back Matter....Pages 227-230 Until recently, CT scanner performance was limited by a series of compromises. With single-detector scanners, one cannot select thin collimation and still maintain the required extent of volumetric coverage. Slow scans cause motion artifacts that impair image quality. The introduction of multidetector CT technology, however, has revolutionized the field. Currently multidetector, multislice CT scanners acquire up to four channels of data from interweaving spirals. The minimum gantry rotation period is as low as half of a second. This increased scan speed allows for thinner collimation and thus higher longitudinal or z-axis resolution in comparison with single-detector CT. The improved image quality with multidetector technology leads to new applications of CT, particularly in cardiac, vascular, and abdominal imaging. On-going clinical studies are evaluating the suitability of this new imaging tool for non-invasive screening and diagnosis of coronary artery disease. A particular advantage to the increased scan speed in vascular imaging is the ability to cut intra­ venous contrast dosage and still maintain peak enhancement CT throughout the entire acquisition. Thin-section, multiphasic acquisition during optimal arterial-phase and venous-phase enhan­ cement significantly improves the accuracy for small lesion and vessel detection, and enhances overall classification of abdominal neoplasms. On the other hand, the increasingly large volume data sets force to new ways of looking at, presenting, storing, and trans­ ferring images. Networking and two- and three dimensional data processing are the key words.