Multidetector CT for congenital heart patients: what a paediatric radiologist should know

Multidetector CT (MDCT) is increasingly used for imaging congenital heart disease (CHD) patients in addition to echocardiography, due to its ability to provide high quality three-dimensional images, giving a comprehensive evaluation of complex heart malformations. Using 4-slice or 16-slice CT, diagn...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Pediatric radiology 2010-06, Vol.40 (6), p.869-875
Main Authors: Paul, Jean-François, Rohnean, Adela, Sigal-Cinqualbre, Anne
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Acquisitions & mergers
Cardiovascular disease
Female
Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
Heart Defects, Congenital - diagnostic imaging
Humans
Imaging
Infant
Infant, Newborn
Male
Medicine
Medicine & Public Health
Neuroradiology
Nuclear Medicine
Oncology
Pediatrics
Pulmonary arteries
Radiology
Radiology - trends
Review
Tomography, X-Ray Computed - methods
Tomography, X-Ray Computed - trends
Ultrasound
United States
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Summary:Multidetector CT (MDCT) is increasingly used for imaging congenital heart disease (CHD) patients in addition to echocardiography, due to its ability to provide high quality three-dimensional images, giving a comprehensive evaluation of complex heart malformations. Using 4-slice or 16-slice CT, diagnostic information in CHD patients is limited to extra-cardiac anatomy, mainly the pulmonary arteries, aorta and venous connections. Due to high heart rates in babies however, coronary evaluation and intra-cardiac analysis were not reliable with the first generations of MDCT. Larger detector size with 64-slice CT and faster acquisition time, up to 75 ms for one slice, has progressively improved coronary and intra-cardiac visualization. Because radiation dose is the main concern, especially in children, every attempt to minimize dose whilst preserving image quality is important: the ALARA concept should always be applied in this population. The 80 kVp setting is now well accepted as a standard for more and more radiological teams involved in CT of children. Different acquisition strategies are now possible for childhood coronary imaging, using retrospective or even prospective gating. Using the latest technology, sub-mSv acquisitions are now attainable for scanning a whole thorax, providing a complete analysis of any 3-D cardiac malformation, including coronary artery course visualisation. This review will describe how technological developments have improved image quality with continuous reduction of radiation dose.
ISSN:0301-0449
1432-1998
DOI:10.1007/s00247-010-1614-x