64-row CT may be more accurate than CVG, 2D Echo, and 3D Echo in comparison with MRI as the reference standard for assessment of global LV function.

Combined coronary CTA and myocardial CTP improves diagnosis of CAD and in-stent restenosis in patients with stents compared with CTA alone. (Coronary Artery Stent Evaluation With 320-Slice Computed Tomography-The CArS 320 Study [CARS-320]; NCT00967876).

• Radiation dose causes concern for both conventional coronary angiography and cardiac CT. • Estimations of the biological effects of ionising radiation may become feasible. • Fewer DNA double-strand breaks are induced by cardiac CT than CCA. • Conversion factors may underestimate the relative effects of ionising radiation from CCA.

Initial results suggest that the described technique under CT guidance is feasible and safe and may especially be advantageous in cases where endoscopic gastrostomy and sedation are contraindicated.

Fixed threshold bolus tracking is suitable for coronary 320-row CT angiography. Manual fast start bolus tracking can reduce contrast agent volumes. Manual fast start and fixed threshold initiation achieve good image quality. Fixed threshold bolus tracking achieves a more reliable contrast bolus position.

Objective: Global cardiac function assessment using multidetector CT (MDCT) is timeconsuming. Therefore we sought to compare an automatic software tool with an established semi-automatic method. Methods: A total of 36 patients underwent CT with 6460.5 mm detector collimation, and global left ventricular function was subsequently assessed by two independent blinded readers using both an automatic region-growing-based software tool (with and without manual adjustment) and an established semi-automatic software tool. We also analysed automatic motion mapping to identify end-systole. Results: The time needed for assessment using the semi-automatic approach (12:12¡6:19 min) was reduced by 75-85% with the automatic software tool (unadjusted, 01:34¡0:29 min, adjusted, 02:53¡1:19 min; both p,0.001). There was good correlation (r50.89; p,0.001) for the ejection fraction (EF) between the adjusted automatic (58.6¡14.9%) and the semi-automatic (58.0¡15.3%) approaches. Also the manually adjusted automatic approach led to significantly smaller limits of agreement than the unadjusted automatic approach for end-diastolic volume (¡36.4 ml vs ¡58.5 ml, p.0.05). Using motion mapping to automatically identify end-systole reduced analysis time by 95% compared with the semi-automatic approach, but showed inferior precision for EF and end-systolic volume. Conclusion: Automatic function assessment using MDCT with manual adjustment shows good agreement with an established semi-automatic approach, while reducing the analysis by 75% to less than 3 min. This suggests that automatic CT function assessment with manual correction may be used for fast, comfortable and reliable evaluation of global left ventricular function.

No abstract

No abstract