Automated vs. manual assessment of left ventricular function in cardiac multidetector row computed tomography: comparison with magnetic resonance imaging

Abstract

We compared semiautomatic contour detection and manual contour tracing in cardiac multidetector row computed tomography (MDCT) with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for calculation of left-ventricular (LV) volumes. The study included 30 patients who underwent contrast-enhanced cardiac MDCT and cardiac cine-MRI. Were calculated 8 mm short-axis slices from MDCT data using three-dimensional multiphase image reconstruction. LV volumes including peak ejection rate and peak filling rate were calculated from manually and semiautomatically determined contours. Results were compared to those from cine-MRI with manually drawn contours as the standard of reference. We found good agreement for the LV volumes, with an ejection fraction of 47.1+/-9.4% for manually drawn contours, 47.9+/-9.9% for semiautomatically detected contours on MDCT, and 48.0+/-10.2% for MRI. Except for peak-filling rate analysis of variance revealed no difference between any of these techniques. Bland-Altman plots and Lin's concordance correlation coefficient showed best agreement between MRI and manual contour tracing in MDCT. Calculation of LV volumes using either semiautomatic or manual contour tracing in cardiac MDCT is therefore feasible when compared to MRI. Automated contour detection needs to be improved to equal manual contour tracing.

Global left-ventricular function assessment using dual-source multidetector CT: effect of improved temporal resolution on ventricular volume measurement

“…In contrast, previous comparative studies on 16-slice and 64-slice CT systems versus MRI revealed a systematic deviation between −3.9±7.5% to 1.8± 4.7% for left-ventricular ejection fraction [5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][22][23][24][25]. A recent meta-analysis on studies on MDCT left-ventricular function analysis versus MRI in 252 patients revealed a (weighted) average difference of -1.7±3.1% in left-ventricular ejection fraction [35].…”

“…Assessment of global left-ventricular function using 4-, 8-, and 16-slice multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) has been performed in good agreement with cine magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), echocardiography, and ECG-gated single photon emission CT (SPECT). Those single-centre studies revealed a systematic overestimation of left-ventricular end-systolic volumes (ESV), most likely due to limited temporal resolution of the CT system used ranging between 125 to 250 ms [4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20]. Recently, phantom measurements as well as initial clinical experience on left-ventricular function assessment with 64-slice CT [21][22][23][24] and dual-source multidetector CT systems [26,27] have been reported.…”

The expanding role of left ventricular functional assessment using gated myocardial perfusion SPECT: the supporting actor is stealing the scene

“…Recent studies indicate that multi-slice computed tomography can effectively assess the left ventricular function [138,139]. However, the use of this technique for this particular aim is still under evaluation, and various limitations must be considered, such as the use of contrast media, the need for low heart rates during acquisition and the relatively prolonged post-processing [133].…”

Quantification of left ventricular function and mass in heart transplant recipients using dual-source CT and MRI: initial clinical experience

“…For quantitative evaluation of cardiac parameters, slices from the base of the heart to the apex were analyzed. The base of the left ventricle was defined as the most basal slice surrounded by at least 50% myocardium in all cardiac phases [20] and the apex as the last slice with a visible lumen along the entire cardiac cycle. In each patient end-diastolic and end-systolic phases were visually determined and manually marked by the observers as the images showing the largest and smallest LV cavity areas, respectively.…”