ATS
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


     

This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to Personal Folders
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Author home page(s):
Christian F. Vahl
Siegfried Hagl
Right arrow Permission Requests
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Albers, J.
Right arrow Articles by Hagl, S.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Albers, J.
Right arrow Articles by Hagl, S.
Related Collections
Right arrow Cardiac - other

Ann Thorac Surg 2003;75:885-889
© 2003 The Society of Thoracic Surgeons

Original article: cardiovascular

In vivo validation of cardiac spiral computed tomography using retrospective gating

Jörg Albers, MDa*, Jan M. Boese, PhDb, Christian F. Vahl, MDa, Siegfried Hagl, MDa

a Department of Cardiac Surgery, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
b Department of Biophysics and Medical Radiation Physics, German Cancer Research Center, Heidelberg, Germany

Accepted for publication September 16, 2002.

* Address reprint requests to Dr Albers, Department of Cardiac Surgery, University of Heidelberg, D-69120 Heidelberg, Germany.
e-mail: joerg.albers{at}urz.uni-heidelberg.de

BACKGROUND: Cardiac functional assessment represents the basis for diagnostics and cardiac operation planning. Spiral computed tomography (CT) combines the advantages of three-dimensional imaging and high temporal resolution when using gating techniques. However, in vivo validation data of this novel imaging technology are lacking. The purpose of this study was to validate in vivo the new imaging method using retrospective gating and to evaluate the clinical usefulness of the achieved temporal resolution.

METHODS: In domestic pigs (n = 10, weight 35 to 40 kg) a flowmeter was placed surgically on the ascending aorta. Flow velocity integrated over systole served as the gold standard for left ventricular (LV) stroke volume (LVSV-FM). CT signal, projection data, pacemaker signal, and flow velocity were recorded simultaneously at constant heart rate (pacemaker, 90 beats per minute). End-systolic and end-diastolic frames were calculated by retrospective gating. LV volumes were traced, the difference representing CT stroke volume (LVSV-CT). Image data were three-dimensionally reconstructed using ray-tracing.

RESULTS: Temporal resolution was 170 ms. Correlation of stroke volumes was high (r = 0.94, mean difference 1.75 mL). Intraobserver (0.49 mL for LVEDV, 0.31 for LVESV) and interobserver variability (p = 0.21 and p = 0.06, respectively) were low. Postprocessing resulted in four-dimensional beating-heart models useful for operation planning.

CONCLUSIONS: Spiral CT using retrospective gating was validated in vivo. Clinically acceptable temporal resolution and accuracy in determining cardiac stroke volumes were found. As a true volumetric imaging modality the method may now play an important role in computer-assisted diagnostics and surgery.






HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
ANN THORAC SURG ASIAN CARDIOVASC THORAC ANN EUR J CARDIOTHORAC SURG
J THORAC CARDIOVASC SURG ICVTS ALL CTSNet JOURNALS
Copyright © 2003 by The Society of Thoracic Surgeons.