The authors developed a method to ensure sufficient opacification of pulmonary vasculature for separate depiction of arteries and veins in three-dimensional form with a small dose of contrast medium utilizing a test injection to determine optimal timing of computed tomography (CT) scanning. The dose was determined by a simulation based on a pharmacokinetic model. The contrast medium was administered at a rate of 5.0 mL/s for 3 s, followed by helical scanning at the timing determined by a dynamic CT scanning following the test injection. Images of 20 consecutive patients acquired with a 64-row CT scanner were evaluated. Quality of vessel depiction was assessed on the basis of the following: HU values at the main pulmonary artery (MPA) and left atrium (LA), distance between the pleural surface and the distal end of the pulmonary vessels on three-dimensional CT pulmonary arteriography and venography (3D-CTPAV), and subjective visual assessment of quality of the 3D-CTPAV images. Time to generate the 3D-CTPAV images was recorded. The mean ± standard deviation (SD) of the HU values at MPA/LA and the distances to the pleural surface for pulmonary arteries/veins were 448.0 ± 123.1/277.3 ± 60.85 HU and 9.21 ± 3.60/10.7 ± 5.45 mm, respectively. The image quality was visually rated as excellent for all of the patients. The mean time ± SD to generate 3D-CTPAV images was 13.6 ± 6.7 min. In conclusion, three-dimensional images of the pulmonary vasculature can be created using 21 mL (including 6 mL for the test injection) of contrast medium.
Keywords: 3D reconstruction; Computed tomography angiography; Image processing; Pulmonary artery; Pulmonary veins.