title: Calcified plaque: measurement of area at thin-section flat-panel CT and 64-section multidetector CT and comparison with histopathologic findings.
abstract: The purpose of this study was to assess the blooming artifacts in ex vivo coronary arteries at multidetector computed tomography (CT) and flat-panel-volume CT by comparing measured areas of calcified plaque with respect to the reference standard of histopathologic findings. Three ex vivo hearts were scanned with multidetector CT and flat-panel-volume CT after institutional review board approval. The area of calcified plaque was measured at histopathologic examination, multidetector CT, and flat-panel-volume CT. The plaque area was overestimated at multidetector CT by 400% (4.61/1.15) on average, and the predicted difference between the measurements was significant (3.46 mm(2), P = .018). The average overestimation of plaque area at flat-panel-volume CT was twofold (214% [2.18/1.02]), and the predicted difference was smaller (1.16 mm(2), P = .08). The extent of the blooming artifact in visualizing calcified coronary plaque is reduced by using flat-panel-volume CT.
authors: Cardiac MR PET CT Program, Massachusetts General Hospital, 165 Cambridge St, 4th Floor, Suite 400, Boston, MA 02114, USA.
authors: Ammar
authors: A
authors: Sarwar
authors: Johannes
authors: J
authors: Rieber
authors: Eline A Q
authors: EA
authors: Mooyaart
authors: Sujith K
authors: SK
authors: Seneviratne
authors: Stuart L
authors: SL
authors: Houser
authors: Fabian
authors: F
authors: Bamberg
authors: O Christopher
authors: OC
authors: Raffel
authors: Rajiv
authors: R
authors: Gupta
authors: Mannudeep K
authors: MK
authors: Kalra
authors: Homer
authors: H
authors: Pien
authors: Hang
authors: H
authors: Lee
authors: Thomas J
authors: TJ
authors: Brady
authors: Udo
authors: U
authors: Hoffmann
mesh_terms: D002114:Calcinosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*; D003324:Coronary Artery Disease / Q000473:pathology; D003331:Coronary Vessels / Q000473:pathology*; D006321:Heart / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D006801:Humans; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000379:methods*