Journal of Cardiovascular Computed Tomography
Volume 2, Issue 6 , Pages 351-359, November 2008

What makes a coronary CT angiogram nondiagnostic?

Department of Medicine and Radiology, Weill Medical College of Cornell University, The New York Presbyterian Hospital, 520 E 70th Street, K415, New York, NY, USA

Received 11 August 2008; accepted 25 October 2008. published online 03 November 2008.

Abstract 

Despite the high diagnostic accuracy of multidetector coronary computed tomographic angiography (CCTA) for the detection and exclusion of obstructive coronary artery stenosis, several technologic limitations of current generation CT scanners may cause artifacts that prevent interpretation of images or cause misclassification of lesions. This review discusses the identification and resolution of the most commonly encountered artifacts that may cause a CCTA to be nondiagnostic, including aspects related to (1) spatial resolution, (2) temporal resolution, (3) contrast enhancement, and (4) other patient-specific factors.

Keywords: Artifacts, Computed tomography, Coronary angiography, Coronary artery disease

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 Conflict of interest: Dr. Min serves on the speaker's bureau for GE Healthcare. Dr. Lin reports no conflicts of interest.

PII: S1934-5925(08)00629-1

doi:10.1016/j.jcct.2008.10.011

Journal of Cardiovascular Computed Tomography
Volume 2, Issue 6 , Pages 351-359, November 2008

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