Journal
EUROPEAN RADIOLOGY
Volume 19, Issue 10, Pages 2357-2362Publisher
SPRINGER
DOI: 10.1007/s00330-009-1503-6
Keywords
Dual-source CT; Cardiac imaging; Image quality; Dose; High pitch
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Increase of pitch in spiral CT decreases data acquisition time; dual-source CT (DSCT) systems provide improved temporal resolution. We evaluated the combination of these two features. Measurements were performed using a commercial DSCT system equipped with prototype software allowing pitch factors from p=0.35 to 3.0. We measured slice sensitivity profiles as a function of pitch to assess spatial resolution in the z-direction and the contrast of structures moved periodically to measure temporal resolution. Additionally we derived modulation transfer functions to provide objective parameters; both spatial and temporal resolution were essentially unchanged even at high pitch. CT of the cardiac region of three pigs was performed at p=3.0. In vivo CT images confirmed good image quality; direct comparison with standard low-pitch phase-correlated CT image datasets showed no significant difference. For a normalized z-axis acquisition of 12 cm, the corresponding effective dose value was 2.0 mSv for the high-pitch CT protocol. We conclude that spiral DSCT imaging with a pitch of 3.0 can provide unimpaired image quality with respect to spatial and temporal resolution. Applications to cardiac and thoracic imaging with effective dose below 1 mSv are possible.
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