Abstract:

To investigate the relationship between the optimal reconstruction phase and heart rate and to determine the optimal systolic and diastolic reconstruction intervals for coronary CT angiography using dualsource CT.  MethodsTwo hundred patients suspected of having coronary artery disease(CHD) underwent dualsource computed tomography. Data were reconstructed in 5% steps throughout the RR interval. Two independent readers selected optimal systolic and diastolic reconstruction windows for each major coronary vessel.  ResultsIn most patients with a heart rate ＞80?bpm, the median optimal systolic reconstruction windows were at 35%, 40%and 35% for RCA,LAD and LCX(2.95±0.86,  3.45±0.44, and 3.10±0.52, P＜0.05). In patients with a heart rate ≤80?bpm, the median optimal diastolic reconstruction window was at 75% for all vessels. ConclusionIn patients with heart rates ≤80?bpm, optimal reconstruction windows were at 75% of the RR interval, and in patients with heart rates  ＞ 80?bpm, systolic reconstructions were selected to yield superior image quality.

Key words: Angiography; Coronary artery; Tomography, Xray computed