Cervical CT angiography comparing routine noncontrast and a late venous scan as masks for automated bone subtraction: feasibility study and examination of the influence of patient motion on image quality.
OBJECTIVE
Bone subtraction techniques have been shown to enhance cranial computed tomography angiography (CTA). The aims of this study were to assess the feasibility of bone subtraction CTA (BSCTA) in cervical CTA, test whether a late venous CT (LVCT) scan can be used as bone mask instead of a low-dose nonenhanced CT (NECT), and to evaluate the impact of patient motion on image quality.


METHODS
Thirty-six patients underwent BSCTA for the evaluation of the neck vessels with a 64-slice CT system using commercially available software. Eighteen patients had a low-dose NECT scan before CTA, and 18 patients had an LVCT scan after CTA. Subtraction quality for vascular segments was evaluated independently by 2 examiners. Cohen's Kappa was applied to evaluate interobserver reliability, and Wilcoxon signed rank test was used to test for differences between the 2 groups. Motion between the 2 scans was measured and correlated to image quality.


RESULTS
BSCTA using both NECT and LVCT scans as masks was successfully applied in all patients. Image quality did not differ significantly between the 2 groups, and interobserver agreement was high (k 0.5-1). Motion between the scans was highest for the jaw and hyoid, and lowest for the upper and lower spine. Decreased image quality on the subtracted images was associated with increased motion for the external carotid and vertebral artery, independent of mask type (P = 0.002-0.04).


CONCLUSIONS
BSCTA techniques can be successfully applied in the neck. If parenchymal phase imaging is indicated, the LVCT can be used as a bone subtraction mask and diagnostic scan, eg, for tumor imaging.
Lell
Michael M
MM
Department of Radiological Sciences, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA. michael.lell@uk-erlangen.de
Ditt
Hendrik
H
Panknin
Christoph
C
Sayre
James W
JW
Klotz
Ernst
E
Ruehm
Stefan G
SG
Villablanca
J Pablo
JP
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000792:Angiography / Q000379:methods*; D015901:Angiography, Digital Subtraction / Q000379:methods*; D016477:Artifacts; D002574:Cervical Vertebrae / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D003287:Contrast Media; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009068:Movement; D010690:Phlebography / Q000379:methods*; D011785:Quality Assurance, Health Care / Q000379:methods; D011856:Radiographic Image Enhancement / Q000379:methods; D011857:Radiographic Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013382:Subtraction Technique; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000379:methods; D014652:Vascular Diseases / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*
D003287:Contrast Media