title: Quantitative assessment of image quality in 64-slice-computed tomography of coronary arteries in subjects undergoing screening for coronary artery disease.
abstract: Accurate and consistent visualization of the entire coronary system with high-grade imaging quality is crucial for routine applications of multi-detector-computed tomography (MDCT) coronary angiography. To determine the imaging quality of 64-slice-MDCT coronary angiography, we respectively explored the quantitative parameters of imaging quality in 105 consecutive subjects (71 men, 34 women; aged 58.66 +/- 10.62 years) who underwent 64-slice-MDCT coronary angiography to screen for coronary disease. The interobserver agreement for semi-quantitative image quality, visible length, signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) of the coronary arteries was good. The SNR and CNR of the proximal segments of the coronary arteries were superior to that of the distal segments of coronary arteries (p < 0.001). The visible length of the stenosed right coronary artery was significantly shorter than that of the non-stenosed right coronary artery (p = 0.03). The SNR and CNR of the stenosed and non-stenosed coronary arteries revealed no significant difference (p > 0.05). Body weight and body mass index were inversely related to the SNR and CNR of the aorta (p < 0.001). In conclusion, 64-slice-MDCT coronary angiography can provide excellent imaging quality of coronary arteries in subjects undergoing screening for coronary disease, although the SNR and CNR were relatively low at the distal segments of coronary arteries.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Imaging, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Li-Hwa
authors.initials: LH
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Ding-Kwo
authors.initials: DK
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Chiao-Yun
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Gin-Chung
authors.initials: GC
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Tsyh-Jyi
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Hsieh
authors.forename: Twei-Shiun
authors.initials: TS
authors.lastname: Jaw
authors.forename: Shu-Yuan
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Chien-Chung
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Jui-Sheng
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Hsu
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D003324:Coronary Artery Disease / Q000175:diagnosis*; D003331:Coronary Vessels / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000379:methods*