title: Imaging of the heart with computed tomography.
abstract: Imaging of the heart with computed tomography (CT) was already introduced in the 1980Is and has meanwhile entered clinical routine as a consequence of the rapid evolution of CT technology during the last decade. In this review article, we give an overview on the technology and clinical performance of different CT-scanner generations used for cardiac imaging, such as Electron Beam CT (EBCT), single-slice CT und multi-detector row CT (MDCT) with 4, 16 and 64 simultaneously acquired slices. We identify the limitations of current CT-scanners, indicate potential of improvement and discuss alternative system concepts such as CT with area detectors and dual source CT (DSCT).
authors.affiliation: Siemens Medical Solutions, Forchheim, Germany.
authors.forename: Thomas G
authors.initials: TG
authors.lastname: Flohr
authors.forename: Bernd M
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Ohnesorge
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017023:Coronary Angiography / Q000266:history / Q000295:instrumentation; D004867:Equipment Design; D006321:Heart / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D006331:Heart Diseases / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D049673:History, 20th Century; D006801:Humans; D011857:Radiographic Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000266:history / Q000295:instrumentation