| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |
|
|
|
|||||||
|
|||||||||
Cardiac Imaging |
1 From the Grace Ballas Research Unit of the Cardiac Rehabilitation Institute, Chaim Sheba Medical Center, Sackler School of Medicine (J.S., M.M.) and Division of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine (N.K.), Tel-Aviv University, Tel-Hashomer 52621, Israel; CT Engineering, Philips Medical Systems, Haifa, Israel (R.E.); Department of Diagnostic Imaging, Chaim Sheba Medical Center, Tel-Hashomer, Israel (S.A., J.R., Y.I.); and Department of Radiology, Hadassah Medical Center, Jerusalem, Israel (D.S.). From the 2003 RSNA Annual Meeting. Received January 8, 2004; revision requested March 9; final revision received November 16; accepted December 10. Supported by a grant from Philips Medical Systems. Address correspondence to J.S. (e-mail: dshemesh{at}netvision.net.il).
PURPOSE: To prospectively compare the results of coronary artery calcium (CAC) measurements obtained with 55- and 165-mAs electrocardiographically gated multi–detector row computed tomography (CT).
MATERIALS AND METHODS: Institutional clinical study review board approval and written informed consent were obtained. Fifty-one consecutive subjects (mean age, 59 years ± 10) were scanned consecutively by using 165 and 55 mAs. For each examination, the number of lesions, total calcium score (TCS) calculated with Agatston algorithm (130-HU threshold), and calcium mass (in milligrams) were measured. Noise was measured by averaging 1 standard deviation of the CT attenuation values in five consecutive transverse sections of the ascending aorta. Paired t test and Pearson correlation were used to compare measurements between the examinations.
RESULTS: By using 55 mAs, CAC was detected (TCS > 0) in all 33 subjects in whom CAC was initially detected with 165 mAs. The mean values of CAC measures with 165 and 55 mAs, respectively, were as follows: number of lesions, 6.2 ± 9.6 and 6.1 ± 9.4; TCS, 123 ± 223 and 126 ± 225; and calcium mass, 23.25 mg ± 43 and 24.25 mg ± 44 (P value was not significant for all parameters). Significant high correlation was found between the two methods for all measures (r > 0.90, P < .01). Similar results were obtained with analysis by coronary vessel. Image noise was 9.3 HU ± 2.1 with 165 mAs and 14.7 HU ± 3.9 with 55 mAs (P < .001), with a parallel decrease in the volume CT dose index from 12 to 4 mGy.
CONCLUSION: Radiation dose can be reduced (eg, 55 mAs) for CAC detection and measurement at multi–detector row CT and provides results comparable to those obtained with 165 mAs.
© RSNA, 2005
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
 |
|
  T. Pflederer, L. Rudofsky, D. Ropers, S. Bachmann, M. Marwan, W. G. Daniel, and S. Achenbach Image Quality in a Low Radiation Exposure Protocol for Retrospectively ECG-Gated Coronary CT Angiography Am. J. Roentgenol., April 1, 2009; 192(4): 1045 - 1050. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
B. Sundaram, S. Patel, N. Bogot, and E. A. Kazerooni Anatomy and Terminology for the Interpretation and Reporting of Cardiac MDCT: Part 1, Structured Report, Coronary Calcium Screening, and Coronary Artery Anatomy Am. J. Roentgenol., March 1, 2009; 192(3): 574 - 583. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
S. M. Kim, M. J. Chung, K. S. Lee, Y. H. Choe, C. A. Yi, and B.-K. Choe Coronary Calcium Screening Using Low-Dose Lung Cancer Screening: Effectiveness of MDCT with Retrospective Reconstruction Am. J. Roentgenol., April 1, 2008; 190(4): 917 - 922. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 C. H. McCollough, S. Ulzheimer, S. S. Halliburton, K. Shanneik, R. D. White, and W. A. Kalender Coronary Artery Calcium: A Multi-institutional, Multimanufacturer International Standard for Quantification at Cardiac CT Radiology, May 1, 2007; 243(2): 527 - 538. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
