Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2014 Sep-Oct;8(5):391-400.
doi: 10.1016/j.jcct.2014.08.005. Epub 2014 Aug 28.

Feasibility of coronary artery calcium scoring on virtual unenhanced images derived from single-source fast kVp-switching dual-energy coronary CT angiography

Yoshitake Yamada  1 , Masahiro Jinzaki  2 , Teppei Okamura  1 , Minoru Yamada  3 , Yutaka Tanami  1 , Takayuki Abe  4 , Sachio Kuribayashi  1
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

Feasibility of coronary artery calcium scoring on virtual unenhanced images derived from single-source fast kVp-switching dual-energy coronary CT angiography

Yoshitake Yamada et al. J Cardiovasc Comput Tomogr. 2014 Sep-Oct.

Abstract

Background: Dual-energy CT technology enables acquisition of virtual unenhanced (VUE) images from contrast-enhanced scans.

Objective: To assess the feasibility of coronary artery calcium (CAC) scoring on VUE images derived from fast kVp-switching dual-energy coronary CT angiography.

Methods: Twenty-seven patients underwent true noncontrast CAC-scoring CT followed by routine single-energy (120-kVp) and fast kVp-switching dual-energy coronary CT angiography, in a random acquisition order on the same day. We calculated the CAC scores on true noncontrast and VUE images. The image noises and the signal-to-noise and contrast-to-noise ratios of the aorta and coronary arteries were measured on both the single-energy coronary CT angiography images and dual-energy coronary CT angiography images (70 keV virtual monochromatic spectral images). The Pearson correlation coefficient test and paired t test were used for statistical analysis.

Results: Excellent correlation was observed between the CAC scores on the true noncontrast and those on the VUE images (r = 0.88; P < .001). Compared with single-energy coronary CT angiography, dual-energy coronary CT angiography showed significantly reduced image noise and increased signal-to-noise and contrast-to-noise ratios in all regions (all P < .001). The effective dose of dual-energy coronary CT angiography (4.3 ± 0.3 mSv) was significantly lower than that of true noncontrast CAC-scoring CT plus single-energy coronary CT angiography (5.4 ± 0.7 mSv; P < .0001).

Conclusions: Excellent correlation was observed between the CAC scores on the VUE images and true noncontrast images. Thus, fast kVp-switching dual-energy coronary CT angiography could allow prediction of the true CAC scores, potentially reducing the total radiation exposure and image acquisition time by obviating the need for true noncontrast CAC-scoring CT.

Keywords: Contrast media; Coronary artery disease; Multidetector computed tomography; Radiation dosage; Signal-to-noise ratio.

PubMed Disclaimer

Publication types

MeSH terms