[Software-assisted CT-postprocessing of the carotid arteries].
OBJECTIVE
A software assistant for automatic evaluation of CT-angiograms (CTA) was developed. It should enable the visualization of the vessel lumen and the quantitative evaluation of a stenosis. CTA examinations of patients with suspected carotid artery stenoses were used for the evaluation of the software assistant.


METHODS
Twelve Patients with suspected high-grade stenosis of the carotid arteries underwent a CTA examination using a multislice CT scanner. The data were analyzed and evaluated using the new software assistant. The results were compared with the data of digital subtraction angiography (DSA) of these patients.


RESULTS
The time of digital postprocessing with the new software-assistant took about six minutes on average. Contour extraction of the vessel, MIP and curved MPR (c-MPR) and orthogonal cross-sectional images of the vessels were calculated, followed by an automatic quantification of stenosis by the use of the c-MPR. A good correlation was found between CTA and DSA data regarding the stenosis grade (r = 0.82). Furthermore, some information could be provided about the plaque morphology.


CONCLUSIONS
The software-assisted detection and analysis of carotid artery stenosis with the new developed program is possible within a justifiable time. DSA- and CTA-data did not show a significant difference in stenosis grading. Further development of software tools could lead to a better characterization of plaque morphology.
Gerhards
A
A
Klinik und Poliklinik für Radiologie, Universitätsklinik der Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz. gerhards@radiologie.klinik.uni-mainz.de
Raab
P
P
Herber
S
S
Kreitner
K-F
KF
Boskamp
T
T
Mildenberger
P
P
D002339:Carotid Arteries / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology; D016893:Carotid Stenosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D006801:Humans; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012984:Software; D013997:Time Factors; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000379:methods*