Author/Authors :
Han, Y Department of Radiology - Third Central Hospital of Tianjin, Tianjin, China - Tianjin Institute of Hepatobiliary Disease, Tianjin, China - Tianjin Key Laboratory of Artificial Cell, Tianjin, China - Artificial Cell Engineering Technology Research Center of Public Health Ministry, Tianjin, China , Wang, T Department of Radiology - Third Central Hospital of Tianjin, Tianjin, China - Tianjin Institute of Hepatobiliary Disease, Tianjin, China - Tianjin Key Laboratory of Artificial Cell, Tianjin, China - Artificial Cell Engineering Technology Research Center of Public Health Ministry, Tianjin, China , Lin, L School of Medical Imaging - Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, China - First Central Clinical College - Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, China , Yu, C Department of Radiology - Third Central Hospital of Tianjin, Tianjin, China - Tianjin Institute of Hepatobiliary Disease, Tianjin, China - Tianjin Key Laboratory of Artificial Cell, Tianjin, China - Artificial Cell Engineering Technology Research Center of Public Health Ministry, Tianjin, China , Lv, R Department of Radiology - Third Central Hospital of Tianjin, Tianjin, China - Tianjin Institute of Hepatobiliary Disease, Tianjin, China - Tianjin Key Laboratory of Artificial Cell, Tianjin, China - Artificial Cell Engineering Technology Research Center of Public Health Ministry, Tianjin, China , Liu, Z School of Medical Imaging - Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, China , Zhang, T School of Medical Imaging - Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, China , Han, L Department of Biomedical Engineering - College of Engineering - Peking University, Beijing, China
Abstract :
Background: To identify the best time-interval for dual-source coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) with bolus tracking automatic trigger technique.
Materials and Methods: 120 patients were randomly divided into four groups (A, B, C
and D), with 30 patients in each group. Monitoring was begun 10 seconds after
injection, and the monitoring time-intervals for groups A, B, C and D were 1.14, 1.47,
2.00 and 3.00 seconds, respectively. CCTA acquisition was triggered as the monitored
concentration in the region of interest (ROI) exceeded 100 HU. The monitoring times,
CT and dose length product (DLP) values of the four groups were compared
statistically. The quality of recorded CCTA images was evaluated objectively, and the
image quality of blood vessel segments was accessed subjectively. Results: there were
no statistically significant differences in objective evaluations between the four groups
(P>0.05). Subjective evaluation results showed no statistically significant differences
between groups A (1.879±0.042), B (1.876±0.043) and C (1.881±0.052). Group D
showed the highest subjective score (2.923±0.069), which was significantly different
from groups A, B, and C (P<0.01). The monitoring times for groups A, B, C and D were
4.78±2.37, 3.76±1.39, 2.77±0.99 and 2.38±0.64, respectively; and the DLP values were
4.13±2.22, 2.18±0.80, 1.50±0.51 and 1.48±0.43 mGy·cm, respectively. DLP increases
with increased monitoring times. Conclusion: When performing dual-source CCTA, a
monitoring time-interval of 2 seconds with trigger scanning technique is the best choice, since it effectively reduces the radiation dose while providing satisfactory images.
