Reproducibility of coronary calcification detection with electron-beam computed tomography.
If coronary calcification scores obtained with electron-beam computed tomography (EBT) were proved to be correlated to coronary atherosclerosis, the reproducibility of the technique had to be assessed before being used for patient follow-up. A total of 150 patients, selected as a result of a cholesterol screening programme, were studied by EBT. Twelve contiguous 3-mm-thick transverse slices beginning on the proximal coronary arteries were obtained through the base of the heart. The amount of calcium was evaluated as the calcified area weighted by a coefficient depending on the density peak level. The value was expressed as a logarithmic scale. Intra-observer, inter-observer and inter-examination reproducibilities were calculated. They were 1.9, 1.3 and 7.2%, respectively. These results were good enough to allow the use of EBT for longitudinal studies. The influence of acquisition and calculation conditions on score computation were also analysed.
Hernigou
A
A
Department of Radiology, Broussais Hospital, Paris, France.
Challande
P
P
Boudeville
J C
JC
Sènè
V
V
Grataloup
C
C
Plainfossè
M C
MC
D000465:Algorithms; D002114:Calcinosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D002118:Calcium / Q000032:analysis; D003324:Coronary Artery Disease / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D003331:Coronary Vessels / Q000378:metabolism; D004583:Electrons; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D016014:Linear Models; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015588:Observer Variation; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000379:methods* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
D002118:Calcium