Jin Liang, Gao Pan, Wang Kun, Li Jianying, Li Ming
Radiology Department, Huadong Hospital, Affiliated to Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
CT Research Center, GE Healthcare China, Beijing, China.
Front Cardiovasc Med. 2022 Sep 15;9:840735. doi: 10.3389/fcvm.2022.840735. eCollection 2022.
To evaluate whether applying image filters (smooth 3D+ and edge-2) improves image quality in coronary CT angiography (CCTA).
Ninety patients (routine group) with suspected coronary artery diseases based on 16-cm wide coverage detector CT findings were retrospectively enrolled at a chest pain center from December 2019 to September 2021. Two image filters, smooth 3D+ and edge-2 available on the Advantage Workstation (AW) were subsequently applied to the images to generate the research group (SE group). Quantitative parameters, including CT value, signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR), image sharpness and image quality score, and diagnostic accuracy were compared between the two groups.
A total of 900 segments from 270 coronary arteries in 90 patients were analyzed. SNR, CNR, and image sharpness for vessels and image quality scores in the SE group were significantly better than those in the routine group (all < 0.001). The SE group showed a slightly higher negative predictive value (NPV) on the left anterior descending artery and right coronary artery (RCA) stenosis evaluations, as well as total NPV. The SE group also showed slightly higher sensitivity and accuracy than the routine group on RCA stenosis evaluation.
The use of an image filter combining smooth 3D+ and edge-2 on an AW could improve the image quality of CCTA and increase radiologists' diagnostic confidence.
评估应用图像滤波器（平滑3D+和边缘增强-2）是否能改善冠状动脉CT血管造影（CCTA）的图像质量。
回顾性纳入2019年12月至2021年9月在一家胸痛中心基于16厘米宽覆盖探测器CT检查结果疑似患有冠状动脉疾病的90例患者（常规组）。随后将优势工作站（AW）上可用的两种图像滤波器，即平滑3D+和边缘增强-2应用于图像，以生成研究组（SE组）。比较两组之间的定量参数，包括CT值、信噪比（SNR）和对比噪声比（CNR）、图像清晰度和图像质量评分以及诊断准确性。
共分析了90例患者270支冠状动脉的900个节段。SE组血管的SNR、CNR和图像清晰度以及图像质量评分均显著优于常规组（均P<0.001）。SE组在左前降支和右冠状动脉（RCA）狭窄评估以及总阴性预测值（NPV）方面略高。在RCA狭窄评估中，SE组的敏感性和准确性也略高于常规组。
在AW上使用结合平滑3D+和边缘增强-2的图像滤波器可以提高CCTA的图像质量并增加放射科医生的诊断信心。
