High-Pitch CT Pulmonary Angiography in Third Generation Dual-Source CT: Image Quality in an Unselected Patient Population

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the feasibility of high-pitch CT pulmonary angiography (CTPA) in 3(rd) generation dual-source CT (DSCT) in unselected patients. METHODS: Forty-seven patients with suspected pulmonary embolism underwent high-pitch CTPA on a 3(rd) generation dual-source CT scanner. CT dose index (CTDI(vol)) and dose length product (DLP) were obtained. Objective image quality was analyzed by calculating signal-to-noise-ratio (SNR) and contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR). Subjective image quality on the central, lobar, segmental and subsegmental level was rated by two experienced radiologists. RESULTS: Median CTDI was 8.1 mGy and median DLP was 274 mGy*cm. Median SNR was 32.9 in the central and 31.9 in the segmental pulmonary arteries. CNR was 29.2 in the central and 28.2 in the segmental pulmonary arteries. Median image quality was “excellent” in central and lobar arteries and “good” in subsegmental arteries according to both readers. Segmental arteries varied between “excellent” and “good”. Image quality was non-diagnostic in one case (2%), beginning in the lobar arteries. Thirteen patients (28%) showed minor motion artifacts. CONCLUSIONS: In third-generation dual-source CT, high-pitch CTPA is feasible for unselected patients. It yields excellent image quality with minimal motion artifacts. However, compared to standard-pitch cohorts, no distinct decrease in radiation dose was observed.