From the Department of Radiology.
Department of Public Health Sciences, Parkinson School of Health Sciences and Public Health, Loyola University Medical Center, Maywood, IL.
J Comput Assist Tomogr. 2021;45(3):403-407. doi: 10.1097/RCT.0000000000001145.
Computed tomography of the coronary arteries (CTCA) is an important diagnostic tool. However, motion degradation is sometimes a challenge to interpretation and quantification, particularly with elevated heart rates. Here, a novel quantitative method is presented as part of an evaluation of one particular motion correction algorithm.
Computed tomography of the coronary arteries scans from 49 patients, with heart rates of >70 bpm, were identified with motion artifacts in multiple coronary segments. At these foci (196), an objective measure of motion degradation, defined here by cross-section eccentricity, was determined before and after image processing with second-generation GE SnapShot Freeze software (SSF-2.0). In addition, a subjective scoring was applied by an expert cardiothoracic radiologist both before and after processing.
An overall decrease in vessel eccentricity strongly correlated (P < 0.001) with processing of the images by motion-correction software. A concurrent overall increase in subjective vessel clarity correlated (P < 0.001) with application of the software as well.
A novel quantitative method (and subjective analysis) for evaluation of CTCA motion has been described and applied to validation of SSF-2.0 motion-correction software. Both the technique and software demonstrate promise for robust clinical utility in CTCA evaluation.
冠状动脉计算机断层扫描（CTCA）是一种重要的诊断工具。然而，运动伪影有时会对解读和定量造成挑战，尤其是在心率升高的情况下。在这里，提出了一种新的定量方法，作为评估特定运动校正算法的一部分。
从 49 名心率超过 70 次/分的患者中识别出冠状动脉 CT 扫描，这些患者的多个冠状动脉节段存在运动伪影。在这些焦点（196 个）处，通过使用第二代 GE SnapShot Freeze 软件（SSF-2.0）在图像处理前后确定运动退化的客观测量值，即这里定义的横截面偏心率。此外，一位心胸放射学专家在处理前后分别进行了主观评分。
血管偏心度的总体降低与运动校正软件处理图像强烈相关（P < 0.001）。同时，应用软件后血管清晰度的总体提高也存在相关性（P < 0.001）。
已经描述了一种用于评估 CTCA 运动的新定量方法（和主观分析），并将其应用于 SSF-2.0 运动校正软件的验证。该技术和软件都有望在 CTCA 评估中具有强大的临床实用性。
