title: High-Pitch CT Pulmonary Angiography in Third Generation Dual-Source CT: Image Quality in an Unselected Patient Population.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the feasibility of high-pitch CT pulmonary angiography (CTPA) in 3rd generation dual-source CT (DSCT) in unselected patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  Forty-seven patients with suspected pulmonary embolism underwent high-pitch CTPA on a 3rd generation dual-source CT scanner. CT dose index (CTDIvol) and dose length product (DLP) were obtained. Objective image quality was analyzed by calculating signal-to-noise-ratio (SNR) and contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR). Subjective image quality on the central, lobar, segmental and subsegmental level was rated by two experienced radiologists.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Median CTDI was 8.1 mGy and median DLP was 274 mGy*cm. Median SNR was 32.9 in the central and 31.9 in the segmental pulmonary arteries. CNR was 29.2 in the central and 28.2 in the segmental pulmonary arteries. Median image quality was "excellent" in central and lobar arteries and "good" in subsegmental arteries according to both readers. Segmental arteries varied between "excellent" and "good". Image quality was non-diagnostic in one case (2%), beginning in the lobar arteries. Thirteen patients (28%) showed minor motion artifacts.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In third-generation dual-source CT, high-pitch CTPA is feasible for unselected patients. It yields excellent image quality with minimal motion artifacts. However, compared to standard-pitch cohorts, no distinct decrease in radiation dose was observed.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Clinical Radiology, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Hospital, Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: Bastian O
authors.initials: BO
authors.lastname: Sabel
authors.affiliation: Institute for Clinical Radiology, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Hospital, Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: Kristijan
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Buric
authors.affiliation: Institute for Clinical Radiology, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Hospital, Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: Nora
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Karara
authors.affiliation: Institute for Clinical Radiology, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Hospital, Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: Kolja M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Thierfelder
authors.affiliation: Institute for Clinical Radiology, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Hospital, Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: Julien
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Dinkel
authors.affiliation: Institute for Clinical Radiology, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Hospital, Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: Wieland H
authors.initials: WH
authors.lastname: Sommer
authors.affiliation: Institute for Clinical Radiology, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Hospital, Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: Felix G
authors.initials: FG
authors.lastname: Meinel
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000792:Angiography / Q000379:methods*; D016477:Artifacts; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011651:Pulmonary Artery / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology; D011655:Pulmonary Embolism / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology; D011857:Radiographic Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D059629:Signal-To-Noise Ratio; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000379:methods*