Influence of heart rate and phase of the cardiac cycle on the occurrence of motion artifact in dual-source CT angiography of the coronary arteries

Achenbach, Stephan; Manolopoulos, Michael; Schuhbäck, Annika; Ropers, Dieter; Rixe, Johannes; Schneider, Christian; Krombach, Gabriele A.; Uder, Michael; Hamm, Christian; Daniel, Werner G.; Lell, Michael

doi:10.1016/j.jcct.2011.11.006

« Previous Next »Journal of Cardiovascular Computed Tomography
Volume 6, Issue 2 , Pages 91-98, March 2012

Influence of heart rate and phase of the cardiac cycle on the occurrence of motion artifact in dual-source CT angiography of the coronary arteries

Stephan Achenbach, MD
- Departments of Cardiology and Radiology, University of Giessen, Klinikstr. 33, 35392 Giessen, Germany
- Departments of Cardiology and Radiology, University of Erlangen, Erlangen, Germany
- Corresponding author.
Michael Manolopoulos, MD
- Departments of Cardiology and Radiology, University of Erlangen, Erlangen, Germany
Annika Schuhbäck, MD
- Departments of Cardiology and Radiology, University of Giessen, Klinikstr. 33, 35392 Giessen, Germany
Dieter Ropers, MD
- Departments of Cardiology and Radiology, University of Erlangen, Erlangen, Germany
Johannes Rixe, MD
- Departments of Cardiology and Radiology, University of Giessen, Klinikstr. 33, 35392 Giessen, Germany
Christian Schneider, MD
- Departments of Cardiology and Radiology, University of Giessen, Klinikstr. 33, 35392 Giessen, Germany
Gabriele A. Krombach, MD
- Departments of Cardiology and Radiology, University of Giessen, Klinikstr. 33, 35392 Giessen, Germany
Michael Uder, MD
- Departments of Cardiology and Radiology, University of Erlangen, Erlangen, Germany
Christian Hamm, MD
- Departments of Cardiology and Radiology, University of Giessen, Klinikstr. 33, 35392 Giessen, Germany
Werner G. Daniel, MD
- Departments of Cardiology and Radiology, University of Erlangen, Erlangen, Germany
Michael Lell, MD
- Departments of Cardiology and Radiology, University of Erlangen, Erlangen, Germany

Received 25 July 2011; accepted 18 November 2011. published online 30 January 2012.

Background

Coronary CT angiography allows visualization of the coronary arteries. However, motion artifact can impair delineation of the coronary artery lumen and detection of coronary artery stenoses.

Objective

We investigated the influence of heart rate and the segment of the cardiac cycle during which images are reconstructed on the occurrence of motion artifacts.

Methods

We evaluated coronary CT angiography datasets obtained by 64-slice dual-source CT in 100 consecutive patients. Data were reconstructed at 13 time instants during the cardiac cycle and evaluated for the presence of motion artifact.

Results

Mean heart rate was 66±14 beats/min. Overall, 98 of 100 patients had evaluable datasets. For heart rates ≤60 beats/min, optimal image quality was uniformly found during late diastole (100% of cases with evaluable image quality during a time window between 65% and 75% of the cardiac cycle). With increasing heart rates, images reconstructed during late systole more frequently provided best image quality. However, image reconstruction could not be restricted to a systolic time period. To achieve evaluable image quality in 95% of cases, data acquired between 25% and 75% of the cardiac cycle had to be available for patients with heart rates >60 beats/min.

Conclusion

Dual-source CT provides high image quality across a wide range of heart rates. Although data acquisition may be limited to diastole for patients with heart rates ≤60 beats/min, the availability of data acquired both during systole and diastole is necessary for patients with higher heart rates.

Keywords: Coronary CT angiography, Image quality, Heart rate, Dual-source CT