Cardiac imaging with photon counting CT

Br J Radiol. 2023 Dec;96(1152):20230407. doi: 10.1259/bjr.20230407. Epub 2023 Oct 24.

Abstract

CT of the heart, in particular ECG-controlled coronary CT angiography (cCTA), has become clinical routine due to rapid technical progress with ever new generations of CT equipment. Recently, CT scanners with photon-counting detectors (PCD) have been introduced which have the potential to address some of the remaining challenges for cardiac CT, such as limited spatial resolution and lack of high-quality spectral data. In this review article, we briefly discuss the technical principles of photon-counting detector CT, and we give an overview on how the improved spatial resolution of photon-counting detector CT and the routine availability of spectral data can benefit cardiac applications. We focus on coronary artery calcium scoring, cCTA, and on the evaluation of the myocardium.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Computed Tomography Angiography / methods
  • Coronary Angiography / methods
  • Heart* / diagnostic imaging
  • Humans
  • Phantoms, Imaging
  • Photons
  • Tomography, X-Ray Computed* / methods