Influence of the motion correction algorithm on the quality and interpretability of images of single-source 64-detector coronary CT angiography among patients grouped by heart rate

• Published in: Japanese journal of radiology 2015-02, Vol.33 (2), p.84-93
• Main Authors: Machida, Haruhiko, Lin, Xiao-Zhu, Fukui, Rika, Shen, Yun, Suzuki, Shigeru, Tanaka, Isao, Ishikawa, Takuya, Tate, Etsuko, Ueno, Eiko
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Algorithms; Coronary Angiography - methods; Coronary Artery Disease - diagnostic imaging; Coronary Artery Disease - physiopathology; Female; Heart Rate - physiology; Humans; Imaging; Male; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Middle Aged; Motion; Nuclear Medicine; Observer Variation; Original Article; Radiographic Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted - methods; Radiology; Radiotherapy; Retrospective Studies; Tomography, X-Ray Computed - methods; Young Adult
• ISSN: 1867-1071; 1867-108X
• DOI: 10.1007/s11604-014-0382-1

Purpose We retrospectively investigated the effect of the motion correction algorithm (MCA) on image quality and interpretability by heart rate (HR) in coronary CT angiography (CCTA). Materials and methods For 105 patients (6 HR groups) undergoing CCTA, 2 readers independently graded the image quality of the 4 major coronary arteries reconstructed with and without MCA at diastole with HR ≤64 bpm and at systole and diastole ≥65 bpm using a 5-point scale. For each HR group and cardiac phase, we compared per-vessel and per-segment image quality using Wilcoxon signed rank test and percentages of interpretable image quality (scores 3–5) among without MCA at diastole with HR ≤64 bpm, as a reference, with MCA at diastole ≤69 bpm and at systole 70–79 bpm using the chi-square test. Results The motion correction algorithm reconstruction provided similar or better image quality and interpretability in all groups, with 96–100 % per-vessel ( P  = 0.008 for the right coronary artery; otherwise, P  > 0.05) and 99 % per-segment interpretable image quality ( P  = 0.0002) at diastole with HR ≤69 bpm and at systole 70–79 bpm compared to the reference (88–100 and 97 %, respectively). Conclusion MCA reconstruction preserved image quality and interpretability of CCTA with HR ≤79 bpm.