Left ventricular functional parameters: Comparison of 16-slice spiral CT with MRI

Purpose: The quantitative measurement of left ventricular functional parameters using multislice computed tomography (MSCT) with retrospective ECG-gating and comparison of the results with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Materials and Methods: Thirty-one patients with suspected or known coronary artery disease underwent MSCT angiography with retrospective ECG-gating (Sensation 16, Siemens). Based on the CT data set, short axis reformations of the left ventricle were performed for functional analysis. On a commercially available workstation, end-diastolic- (EDV), end-systolic- (ESV), stroke volume (SV), ejection fraction (EF) and myocardial mass (MM) were calculated from MSCT (temporal resolution 105-210ms) data according to the modified Simpson's rule and compared to MRI (1.5 T scanner, temporal resolution 48 ms) using a 2D TrueFISP cine sequence with respiration hold. Results: In all cases, the quality was adequate for both MSCT and MRI. MSCT and MRI had an excellent correlation for EDV (r = 0.86), ESV (r = 0.91), EF (r = 0.87) and MM (r = 0.88), and a good correlation for SV (r = 0.70). The mean difference was 13.2 +/- 21.9 ml for EDV, 8.7 +/- 15.9 ml for ESV, 4.6 +/- 12.3 ml for SV, 1.4 +/- 5.2 % for EF, and 11.9 +/- 13.8g for MM. However, EDV (p=0.002), ESV (p = 0.005), SV (p = 0.048), and MM (p < 0.0001) were significantly overestimated with MSCT compared to MRI. For EF, no significant difference between MSCT and MRI was found (p = 0.15). Conclusion: For left ventricular functional parameters, MSCT of the heart with retrospective ECG-gating showed a high correlation with MRI, which has an important implication when using MSCT for non-invasive cardiac imaging. Despite the high correlation, overestimation of EDV, EVS, SV, and MM with MSCT has to be taken into account when applying this technology in clinical practice. EF was not significantly different between both modalities.